Ever get caught up in over-analyzing and questioning your decisions, going round and around, wondering if you chose the ‘right’ course?

You’re not alone. Second-guessing is epidemic.

Here’s why, I think:
1️⃣ We have a mind-boggling number of options — people to meet, things to build, opportunities to pursue…
2️⃣ There’s endless information at our fingertips about all the options, if only we can consume it all.
3️⃣ And finally, we’re surrounded by people who are seemingly taking advantage of all the options.

It all feeds the illusion that there’s a right way to do things, and everyone else — except us! — has figured it out.

So we don’t trust ourselves.

And when we don’t trust ourselves, we hold back. We don’t speak up, we don’t take a stand.

We don’t fully commit to a decision and take the actions that would make it the right one.

Then when things don’t work out, we blame ourselves — we see our flaws and mistakes as a survival threat.

We become the enemy.

Of course, that just perpetuates the cycle, because how can you trust the enemy?!

But here’s the big secret I’ve discovered in working with thousands of high-achievers — Fortune 500 execs, Navy SEALs, best-selling authors, Ivy League professors, world-class athletes, multi-millionaires:

Everyone has doubt. Everyone has insecurities.

The leaders I work with just don’t let them run the show. They learn how to relax into their own authentic style of leadership, even if they’ve been ‘in hiding’ for years.  

They get clear on what they’re supposed to know (e.g. the strategy, the financials, the key metrics). They learn they don’t have to know everything. And they gain confidence in their ability to figure things out.

Basically, they train themselves to trust.

So yes, second-guessing is common. But it doesn’t have to be.