I’ve had a lot of success in my life, but I’ve also had a lot of times I’ve failed.
Right before I started my new site, I had a revelation. I noticed that I had so many projects in the past that I was excited about when I started…but then they went nowhere. I noticed a correlation between every instance. Every time I’ve “failed” it was because I gave up too early. I stopped looking for opportunities. I stopped putting the work in. I didn’t share my idea with the world or look to others for support. So how do you keep self-doubt from sabotaging your success? Here’s what helped me.

When I “failed” I was filled with self-doubt, and I asked myself:

• What if it doesn’t work out?
• What will people think about me starting something?
• What if I try…and fail?
• What if I don’t have the experience?
• What if I do all this work and it doesn’t work out?
• What will my employer think?

Through the conversations I’ve been having with some of you, I know that you feel the same. You struggle with starting something but not seeing it through. You’ve told me you struggle with following through and getting rid of the self-doubt and fear of uncertainty. But, by not going after it, you could face regret later on.

I did things very differently this time. I used techniques that have helped me get more motivated than ever, grow my network, and most importantly, stick to what I said I would do.

Take an audit:

• Take an audit of the goals you started but haven’t completed.
• If you decide one of the goals wasn’t worth it, ask yourself why. Reflect on what you have learned that you can use in the future.
• Reflect on why you stopped. Was it self-doubt and a lack of confidence?
• Ask yourself if they are worth it. If they are, find an accountability partner and get started.
• Commit just ten minutes a day to doing one thing towards your goal. I started by committing mere minutes a day towards it and it’s grown so quickly.
• If you decide one of the goals wasn’t worth it, ask yourself why. Reflect on what you have learned that you can use in the future.
• Reflect on why you stopped. Was it self-doubt and a lack of confidence?

Instead of filling my head with questions of fear and self-doubt, I asked myself:

• What if it works out? What are the possibilities?
• What if I can inspire one person to love themselves?
• What if I can help one person do something they love?
• Who will I become if I follow my intuition? Is it the person I’ve always wanted to be?
• What if I don’t do anything? What will my life trajectory look like?
• Will doing nothing get me to my two-year, or five-year goal?

These questions will inspire you to take action. When you think back on things that you started, but didn’t complete, I want to remind you that “failure” is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s an opportunity to learn fast, change direction, and move forward instead of being stuck in a bad decision. For every project I started but didn’t complete, I learned more about myself and important skills like how to do market research, build websites, and build an online presence. All of the things I’ve worked on and “failed” at along the way, have helped me today.

By Reese Evans, the founder of Yes Supply Co. Reese helps female creatives, and future girl bosses, create a blog, business, and life they love.