Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, we're going to talk about letting go of toxic self doubt. So we all have those moments where the voice in the head starts to whisper. "What if you fail? What if you make a fool of yourself? What if they hate your work? You're not talented enough, smart enough, or experienced enough to do this." This is the voice of self doubt. Now self-doubt is part and parcel of the human experience.

It's a battle we all have within our own heads from time to time, but it need not define us or hold us back. As Van Gogh reportedly once said, "If you hear a voice within you say, you cannot paint, then by all means paint and the voice will be silenced." And how wonderful that he did paint despite that inner voice. We're all blessed by that. So this quote reminds me that while none of us are immune to self doubt, we all also hold the ability to continue on doing what matters most to us despite it. I was once at a conference where the speaker demonstrated the simplicity of moving beyond self doubt.

He asked the audience to say to themselves, I can't lift my right arm. I can't lift my right arm, over and over again while raising their right arm. The point, the voice in your head does not define you and certainly need not defeat you. Speaking of which I remember years ago, thinking to myself, my having my own self doubt, who am I to start my own business as a mindfulness and mental strength teacher? I'm not smart enough. I'm not talented enough.

I don't know what I'm doing. But now I've been running my business for over a decade and doing what I love and really enjoying helping people be mentally stronger. This never would have been possible if I had let that self doubt call the shots. So I want to share with you today three steps to dealing with self doubt when it arises. The first one is to name it.

So whenever self doubt arises, instead of letting it kind of really take over, simply mentally noting to yourself in a playful and warm tone, 'Ah, okay. Self doubt is arising again.' Or you can even give it a fun name and bring some humor into this. 'Ah, okay. Radio doom and gloom is playing again.' Really kind of playing with the mind. It's like saying, name it to tame it, is like saying, I see you.

I see what you're doing. Now the second thing you can do, make your mission bigger than your doubts. So connect with what really matters to you in your life instead of connecting with the doubt. So bring your heart's deepest desires into the front of your mind and make that your primary focus. And the third thing you can do is just take meaningful action towards what matters to you.

In other words, paint when the inner voice says you can't r,aise your right arm when the inner voice says otherwise. Knowing this, you know, you can just go ahead and take meaningful action towards your values, towards your heart's desires, no matter what is going on with the voice in the head. So as Dale Carnegie said, "Action breeds confidence and courage." I hope this practice helps you share your gifts with the world, grow inner strength and make your life happier, more meaningful. I wish you the best with it. And as always, thank you for your practice.

Let's settle in for today's meditation.