How do you handle fear and self-doubt?
I have had fear and self doubt throughout my life. In all areas, personal, academic and professional I have found myself thinking that I am not good enough and that I don’t have the capacity to meet the challenges of life. Oddly enough, the constant overcoming of these challenges does nothing to reduce my feeling of inadequacy. If things go well I often feel relieved that I have ‘got away with it’ whilst if things go badly I see it as proof that I haven’t got what it takes.
I don’t trust people without self doubt because they tend to be sociopathic, bullying individuals. They are the kids at school who add to your self doubt and fear and they continue doing it to people as adults. A bully at school is a bully because that is their nature. No excuses, no attempt to make them appear to be victims themselves will wash with me, because they never change. All they do is make life worse for everyone around them.
You know what? I will keep my fear and self doubt because it makes me the thoughtful, kind and empathetic person I am. Without them I would end up the type of person I detest. My life is both enhanced and made much more difficult by my traits but I am a better human being than those who don’t have them.
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From → 2026
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 
I bury it or keep it to myself most of the time. Not the healthiest thing to do i know! I was bullied and excluded a lot growing up, and to some extent in my first couple of jobs because i’m not “one of the lads” – i don’t like sport, cars, drinking loads, or other alleged “manly” pursuits” – so i learned to keep any fears or worries to myself lest they be seen as signs of weakness. And at 49 years old it’s very hard to change.
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I can fully understand. Whenever I see Father’s Day cards or birthday cards they feature cars, golf, rugby, football and beer, none of which I’m interested in unless you count Arsenal Women’s Football Team which I doubt most ‘blokes’ would!
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