Quotes About Self-doubt

Any beginning is difficult, but when you're opening the newspaper every day, and it's all about how bad you are, sometimes even you begin to believe that.

I've felt too stupid and inadequate amongst my ultra-intelligent course-mates, yet too geeky and opinionated for commercial radio.

But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself.

Io restai a fissare il vuoto che aveva lasciato, chiedendomi cosa diavolo ci fosse di sbagliato in me

Give me strength, not to be better than my enemies, but to defeat my greatest enemy, the doubts within myself. Give me strength for a straight back and clear eyes, so when life fades, as the setting sun, my spirit may come to you without shame.

The awful part of the writing game is that you can never be sure the stuff is any good.

with each new book of mine I have always the feeling that this time I have picked a lemon in the garden of literature.

Throughout my career I've lived in constant fear that I wouldn't be good enough, that I'd have nothing to say, that I'd be laughed at, humiliated—and I'm old enough to know that fear will follow me to the very last word I'll ever write. As

Therese frowned, floundering in a sea without direction or gravity, in which she knew only that she could mistrust her own impulses.

We often don't know our own stories because we doubt their existence, dismiss their importance, or we're distracted.

Self-doubt is common when our efforts fail to bring results. Failure is a rock in our shoe that nags us until we find relief. At first, failure to achieve our desired end will elicit careful scrutiny (What can I do better?) and resumed commitment (How can I try harder?). Success may be achieved—straight As, an athletic scholarship, perfect Sunday school attendance—but the real goal—a happy family, an end to the abuse, or relief from the pain—is always out of reach.

It sounds as if you are trapped in a cycle of thinking about yourself and how you don't belong in the world.

He was surprised at how useless his mind was.

There's this spiral where you can't stop feeling horrible about your horrible self, and it makes you act more horrible.

A writer afraid of her own subject- whatever it might be- is a frozen creature, trapped in the inessential. Diminished.

The last time we were here," I said, "I told you I liked you. I should have trusted myself to say I love you.

fear of being revealed as a man walking on stilts among giants is understandable. Failure at this point would destroy him.

Agora, cada vez que nos vemos, depois que deixo você, vou para casa com um sentimento miserável de que sou lenta e estúpida sobre tudo. Repenso coisas que disse e arranjo respostas brilhantes e espirituosas que deveria ter dito e tenho vontade de me chutar porque não as mencionei quando estávamos juntos.

Eu me encontro querendo impressionar você de uma maneira que nunca pensei em fazer antes, mas estar com você debilitou minha autoconfiança. Eu questiono meus motivos agora, de tudo que faço.

Então é assim que uma pessoa chega a se desprezar: sabendo que está fazendo a coisa errada sem conseguir parar

I don't agree that I have a lot of confidence.

I never had a lot of confidence in myself.

I didn't have much confidence in myself…never.

I don't have the confidence to pull off a mustache.