We’ve all been there.

Your performance is dropping. Your work is starting to dawn on you. Your love for the job is declining ever so slowly while your peers seem to be riding high.

You used to be full of promise. Heck, someone even said you used to be one of the best on the team.

But You Begin to Doubt Yourself

Your results are coming up short… for weeks and months! You feel demotivated. You worry. You get anxious.

You begin to wonder the worst fear of all young & ambitious achievers:

“What if… what if I’m not good at anything?”

Did someone finally catch up to me and call me out?

That I wasn’t that great all along and now my jig is up?

This question is paralyzing because it goes against our very core as aspiring top performers.

All our working lives we want to win BIG, we want to finish BIG. And in order to win & finish BIG, you got to be the BEST.

And if you’re not good at anything, then… there’s no way you can chase your ambitions / accomplish your big goals in life.

“If my goals aren’t ambitious, or at least big, then what’s the point?”

“Mediocrity? That’s a wasted life” — You tell yourself.

Then I Started Looking for Answers

Seeking for answers, I asked those who were more senior than me and they said they all had the same crisis before.

Their answers? I have three.

First, it’s normal to feel this way, especially if you take your work seriously. But don’t give up until they give up on you.

This nagging fear of being bad at your job should make it OK for you to mentally resign. Instead, continue to do your best work until they call it quits.

Second, being “the best” is subjective. To some, Person A > Person B. To others, Person B > Person A. It’s unfair comparison. What you really should care about being the best version of you.

Similar to the Jordan Peterson advice:

“Compare yourself to who you were yesterday”

Third, yes, you may think your career is in jeopardy. But is it really? Are you spending more time worrying than you are improving your craft? Do you honestly think everybody is “pity-paying” you till you are up to par?

The honest truth is they have not given up on you (if they did, you would’ve been fired long ago). They want to see you shine — they interviewed dozens of people and trained you for months.

If your fear is the fear of getting canned, rest assured — it’s near if you don’t stop whining and start improving.

And even if the worst happens, there are plenty of opportunity and more dream companies you can apply for.

No money saved up? Move back home with family or freelance fast to pay the bills.

It’s not the end of the world. Get it together and don’t give up till they do. Then find the next gig.