If you’re hesitant to embark on a new professional endeavor, or so worried about whether the work you’re doing is accomplishing goals that you end up falling short of them, you’re not alone.

Andrea Ayres, a writer for the web development startup Crew, delves deep into the subject of self-doubt, detailing its endurance through the ages (even apes experience it).

The two emotions that feed self-doubt are a fear of failure and the “inability to express our desired self,” which Ayres explains is what drives us to work toward realistic goals. A problem arises when there is a disconnect between our possible self (which represents hopes and fears) and our desired self. So if either of these sound familiar, you may be experiencing self-doubt. But that’s not a bad or abnormal thing.

“You’ll never banish self-doubt for good, and any article that tells you that is lying,” Ayres writes. “What you can do is get your self-doubt into check.”

And when you get control of this feeling, you can use it to fuel your professional aspirations. Ayres recommends channeling this energy into the “SMART technique,” which revolves around goal-setting:

You can check out Ayres’ entire post here.

Tweet of the Day

https://twitter.com/HoCoHowie/status/479291204211712000

Learn about newsletter tips and tricks, the ins and outs of social outreach, and more by keeping tabs on the #mmccon hastag throughout the day as ASAE’s 2014 Marketing, Membership, and Communications Conference continues.

Other good reads

“Just because you have created an amazing event it doesn’t mean that registrations automatically follow.” Event Manager Blog‘s Cathy Key offers valuable advice on how to use content to drive ticket sales.

“Social media delivers the greatest overall value as a marketing channel and information source.” Find out why in community engagement expert Colleen Dilenschneider’s blog post here.

Nonprofit Marketing Guide wants to know about your workload for its survey of how long it takes you and your peers to complete certain tasks.

(Wavebreakmedia Ltd/ThinkStock)