You know that quiet voice that says, "Maybe you're just not ready yet"? The one that sounds calm, rational and even protective in some ways, but somehow always leaves you hesitating, second-guessing and holding back?

That's self-doubt.

And when it takes the wheel, it doesn't just whisper... it directs every move you make.

I know this intimately. I lived there for years - caught between ambition and fear, knowing I was made for more but trapped in the same cycles that kept me "safe"... and small.

Self-doubt is sneaky like that. It disguises itself as logic, when really, it's a loop - a psychological pattern that convinces you you're doing something (researching, preparing, perfecting), when in truth all you're doing is delaying your own freedom.

If you've been feeling stuck, here are the three signs you might be living in the self-doubt loop, and how to finally step out of it.

1. You call it procrastination, but it's really protection.

You tell yourself that you're "waiting for the right time" - that you just need more clarity, a better plan, the right strategy. But here's the truth: procrastination is often fear wearing productivity's mask.

When I was building my first business, I spent months tinkering with fonts and colours and website design instead of talking about my services with the people who may be interested in working with me. I told myself that I was "refining my brand" when really, I was terrified - of being seen, of being judged, of failing publicly.

What I didn't realise was that in my hesitation, I was reinforcing a belief that I wasn't ready... and I kept proving myself right.

Your procrastination isn't laziness... it's self-protection. It's your nervous system saying, "If I don't move, I can't get it wrong." 

But growth doesn't happen in figuring it out first - it happens in doing it scared.

Action kills anxiety. Avoidance births it. ***read that again.

So... take one tiny step today. Not the perfect one, simply the next one. Because clarity doesn't come before action... it's created by it.

2. You overthink because you don't yet trust your voice.

If procrastination is protection, overthinking is control. It's the illusion that if you just analyse it from every angle, you'll finally feel safe enough to move forward. What actually happens, though, is paralysis.

I see this every day in the women I coach, and it used to be my reality too. I could spend weeks in my head replaying conversations, reworking decisions, rewriting plans that didn't even exist yet. Because if I could "think" my way to safety, I could avoid ever being wrong.

But the truth is that overthinking is just a clever way to stay in the familiar discomfort of inaction. It's a lack of self-trust disguised as preparation. And it keeps you trapped in quicksand.

Your brain will always offer more questions than answers. So stop waiting for certainty - it's not coming! You don't build self-trust by knowing every outcome in advance. You build it by proving to yourself that no matter the outcome, you're capable of handling it.

Start small. Decide something simple and follow through on it. The goal isn't to get it "right". The goal is to rebuild the bridge between your intuition and your action.

3. You compare because you've disconnected from your own power.

There you are, scrolling past her again - the woman who's doing exactly what you want to do, only way better - and you shrink a little. You tell yourself that you're inspired... but inside, you're quietly keeping score.

Comparison is the thief of joy, yes - but it's also the mirror of misalignment.

When you're rooted in self-doubt, you'll always see someone else's success as proof of your inadequacy instead of your possibility.

For years, I told myself that I was "behind". Behind the other coaches, creators and women who seemed to have cracked the code of confidence. But the day I stopped measuring my pace against someone else's path, everything changed. Because comparison loses it's power when you realise that you're not competing - you're becoming.

You're not late. You're simply in the chapter of preparation before your story of expansion.

Breaking The Loop: Your Reclamation Begins Here.

The self-doubt loop is built on one lie: I'm not enough yet. And the only way to dismantle that lie is to start choosing differently, even when it feels uncomfortable.

As I tell my clients inside my She Breaks Through program, transformation starts the moment you decide that your old patterns don't get to lead your future.

So here's the invitation:

• Stop "figuring it out". Start doing it afraid
• Stop asking for permission. Start self-validating.
• Stop waiting to feel ready. Start becoming Her now.

Because the woman you're becoming doesn't overthink her worth, procrastinate her power, or compare her becoming to anyone else's.

She leads. She trusts. She moves. And so will you.

Love you. Mean it 💋

Sabs xxx