Self-Doubt is the Creative Process
If you’re not doubting yourself, you’re not even trying.
“When you have a creative mind, you’re gonna doubt a lot of things. Insecurity is all completely normal, especially with your own work, because it’s an extension of yourself. So when you’re giving away some of your art, you’re giving away a piece of yourself.” — Mac Miller
I’m currently in a season of doubt.
I wouldn’t call it panic, but I’d call it a sense of having no idea what the hell I’m doing. I’m in that part of the creative process where you’re too deep to turn around, but still too far from the finish to see if it’s working. It’s the “all is lost” moment in a screenplay—except this time, I’m the confused lead, squinting at the script like, “Who wrote this part?”
In screenwriting, this beat usually lands near the middle of Act II. Sometimes it’s called the false ending. It’s when everything seems like it’s falling apart, or worse—like it already has—and the only way forward is through a door you never meant to open.
That’s the thing about self-doubt: it’s not a detour from the process; it is the process.
Self-doubt creeps in at every stage. In the beginning, when the idea feels too small. In the middle, when it feels too big. And sometimes, even after it’s done, when you wonder if this is really how you want to be seen.
But don’t look at doubt as failure, look at it as evidence that you care.
You don’t obsess over something meaningless. You don’t lose sleep over something you don’t love. Doubt is what shows up when you’re doing work that has weight. It’s a shadow, and shadows only show up when there’s light.
And the longer you stick with a project, the louder the voice gets. The “wouldn’t it be cool if…” turns into “what the hell am I doing?” And that’s when quitting starts to feel like relief. That’s when your couch looks like salvation. That’s when a dumb Netflix original you’ll forget in two hours starts to sound better than finishing the thing you once believed in.
But when you don’t give in, you’re not just surviving the doubt—you’re becoming the kind of person who finishes. There’s power in finishing.
Creatives are often people who feel too much to speak plainly. So we use art to say it. You might not know how to tell someone you love them, but you can write a song that aches with it. You might not have the words for your grief, but you can paint what your heart is carrying and let the colors speak.
Because your work comes from somewhere real, the doubt will always be real, too.
And the more you make, the more it changes shape. You get one win under your belt, and the voice adjusts to “can you do it again?”, “what if it was a fluke?”, or “what if the next one doesn’t hit?”
It never goes away. You just learn how to move with it.
That’s why I believe so deeply in studying the creative process. That’s the heartbeat of Create.Repeat. You will be brave, and then scared, and then brave again. And then you’ll have to do it over and over, again and again.
This is the calling.
Self-doubt is not a sign that you’re failing, it’s a sign that you’re doing something worth failing at. Something that asks you to show up fully. Something that might not work, but if it does, it could change everything.
So if you’re stuck in the fog today, if you’re second-guessing everything, if you’re reworking the same paragraph for the sixth time, if you’re looking at your blank canvas and wondering if this whole thing was a mistake… take heart.
Doubt is not the end. It’s the middle. And the only way out… is through. Stick with it.
Say something true, even if your voice shakes.
Keep creating and repeating,
Zack
P.S. If this landed with you, please forward it to a friend who’s in their own creative fog. Let them know they’re not alone :)
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This week’s advice…
Help! I Talked the Idea to Death Before It Even Started
This week, we’re exploring three moments that show up again and again in the life of a creative:
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History repeats. Create the future.
Once I realized that self doubt was part of my writing process it unlocked a new level in my career.
Like a wave, I now know that every time I write there’s going to be a short period of “Is this even good?”
I agree 100% that the only way forward is to keep going.
self doubt has absolutely been kicking my ass, but I refuse to get in my own way of pursing my dreams and expressing my creativity in ways only I can. Thank you for always coming in *exactly* when I need a supportive reminder that I am truly never alone in this process with these feelings 🫶🏾