Silencing your Inner Critic & Overcoming Self-Doubt

By Mukesh GuptaIdeas

I have been thinking about starting a podcast for the past 5 months. I have decided the name, recorded 2 episodes for the podcast, yet it is not live.

The biggest reason for this is self-doubt – self doubt that will i be able to maintain the podcast on a regular basis, specially with a full time job and an active blog. 

Do you face this challenge as well? How do you deal with your inner critic? What are some of the tactics that you employ to overcome this self-doubt? 

Denise Jacobs shares her experience about how she deals with her inner critic, in the slides she posted on slide share.  

For me, managing this self-doubt is still a work-in-progress and that is the reason why my podcast is still not live. 

The only way for me to deal with such self-doubt is to share my thoughts or ideas or intentions with someone whom I know will question me at some point about the status of my idea. Or share it publicly, via this blog. 

Once i have committed to an idea publicly, I end up doing what it takes. 

So, today, here, I am announcing the launch of my podcast “Pushing Beyond the Obvious“.The first episode will go live on iTunes on 1st June 2014. 

Through this podcast, I shall try and push the boundaries in Sales, Marketing, Innovation, Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Strategy.

I intend to host insanely interesting guests who will share their stories, experiences & learnings. I shall also share my experiences and learnings from the past eighteen years of working in each one of these fields.

This podcast is for you if you are a practitioner in any of the fields I have mentioned above. 

I am looking forward to hosting the podcast and having a lot of fun. 

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19 thoughts on “Silencing your Inner Critic & Overcoming Self-Doubt”

  2. I look forward to hearing your podcast. I just launched my podcast and I identify with this so much. Every slide was/is me. I was 15 days late, only had one episode ready to go (I thankfully had several recorded, as well as several already scheduled to be recorded), my website is very basic, etc, etc. I published and sat for a day. Didn’t tell anyone.

    It feels so good to finally get it out there even though I still have doubts. But I am enjoying the process and after over a year(!) of thinking about this podcast, just to have it in itunes, even if no one listens, is still an accomplishment for me.

    My biggest motivator when I was in the trenches and doing things I’d never done before and having to make decisions about things I didn’t fully understand, was talking to the people I knew would benefit. Hearing their questions, seeing them struggle with these things was a way of getting me outside of my head and back to the reason I wanted to do it in the first place. That is still my biggest motivator. I want to change the way the world sees my subject. (I know I’m being vague. I don’t want this to be about my podcast because I think this is universal).

    So be encouraged. People don’t expect perfection. And someone needs to hear your podcast. Why are you keeping it from them?

    1. Hi Rachel

      Thanks a lot for your words of encouragement. I totally understand how you felt during your pre-launch face, as I am going through exactly the same thing.

      I am also looking forward to that sense of achievement once my podcast is available on iTunes.

      I do hope that I am able to provide value to my listeners as a podcaster soon.

      Thanks, Mukesh
      BTW: What is your podcast called and what is your subject? Pls share more information. Keenly looking forward to it.

      1. It’s called the HyperG Pregnancy Podcast. It’s about Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which is an extreme form of nausea and vomiting that about 2-4% of women that are pregnant get. (The numbers seem to be increasing though.) I’m talking to women about their experience and exploring the possible treatments and preventative measures. It can be somewhat controversial, which is fun. 🙂 Thanks for asking!

  3. Hey Mukesh !

    Best of luck with your podcast !

    As for your inner critic tell him to shut the f**** up ! And surround yourself with people that will tell him the same .

    You will do just fine .

    Go get ‘ em , man !

  4. Best of luck, Mukesh, and great that you use your online space as your own public to-do list. This online commitment not only works but is valuable to your readers – people like me! Looking forward to the podcast.

    1. Thanks Rob for your kind words. I must say that your website looks very impressive. i look forward to learning from the content you put out..

  5. Mukesh, we all understand your feelings. Our internal critic is our loudest and most harsh critic. We always compare ourselves to what other people can do, and that was one of my greatest limiting beliefs. I was afraid of embarassing myself, of looking inadequate, and when I compared myself to other established shows, it only intensified my fears.

    Finally, I did what Berni Xiong of the “Shut Up Show” says: I kicked my fears to the curb and got stuff done. I realized that if my podcast isn’t as good as Meron’s or John Lee Dumas, or Pat Flynn (yes, I was comparing myself to the biggest names) that was perfectly fine. I make my show as good as I can do. I stopped comparing myself to others, and focused on what I can control–my performance, my quality and my schedule.

    Besides: Pat Flynn isn’t me! I am the only me! And I am the only peson who can do “me” as good as I can do it! I launched on April 10, and today was my 15th episode. Is it a perfect show? No. But it is a good show, and every episode gets better!

    It’s okay to have fear. We all do. It is not only to let fear control you. You are more powerful than that! You can succeed! The fact that you posted this in public AND set a launch date tells me that success is on your path!

    My podcast (Make Your Someday Today) is all about success in spite of the obstacles that we all face. Welcome to the podcast club!

    Trevor

    1. Hi Trevor

      I completely understand your feeling and also felt that each one of us has a unique perspective and a unique voice. That is also the reason that i have in fact gone ahead and launched my show.

      The show is now live on iTunes @ https://itunes.apple.com/in/podcast/pushing-beyond-obvious-your/id887956450.

      Thanks for your words of encouragement. It did matter a lot to me.

      I would appreciate if you could provide your suggestions, ideas and feedback on the show so that i could improve the show.

      Thanks
      Mukesh

  6. I was not able to submit my podcast to the directories on 1st June as I had indicated in my blog above as I wasn’t able to complete the post production on time.

    I underestimated the time, effort and skill that is needed to complete the post-production and hence the delay.

    I think i will be able to submit my podcasts to all the directories in a week from now.

    Thanks a lot for all your encouragement and support. I hope to continue to have your support, guidance and encouragement.

  7. Pingback: PBTO1: Launching “Pushing Beyond the Obvious” Podcast | Musings of A Salesman

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