Goals usually start with good intentions and a mild sense of superiority. You’re organized. You’re motivated. You’re definitely going to stick with it this time. Then you skip one workout, mess up one deadline, or realize the plan requires more effort than anticipated. That’s usually when doubt shows up.
Patrick Carroll, a psychology professor at The Ohio State University at Lima, studies that turning point. Psychologists call it an “action crisis,” the moment when someone starts seriously weighing whether to keep going after a long-term identity goal or walk away. In his research, Carroll describes these moments as inevitable. Setbacks pile up, obstacles start to feel heavier, and doubt begins to frame the decision about whether continuing is worth it.
His new research suggests a move that sounds too simple. When that doubt starts narrating your life, try doubting the doubt. “What this study found is that inducing doubts in one’s doubts can provide a formula for confidence,” Carroll said.
Right When You Want to Quit Is Probably When You Should Pause and Reconsider
In one study, 267 people rated how uncertain they felt about their most important goal. Then researchers nudged them into either confidence or doubt about their own thinking by having them write about a past moment of certainty or uncertainty. When participants got pushed into confidence, more goal doubt predicted less commitment. When they got pushed into doubt about their own thinking, that pattern reversed. Carroll described the punchline bluntly: “Doubt plus doubt equaled less doubt.”
A second study with 130 college students reached the same conclusion using a physical cue. Participants answered questions with their non-dominant hand, which made their writing feel awkward and uncertain. Previous research shows that this kind of shaky handwriting can make people doubt the validity of their own thoughts, and that uncertainty ended up weakening the power of their goal doubts.
Use it as a tool, not a permission slip to grind forever. Carroll notes that the effect weakens when people become overly focused on managing their own doubt. Outside perspective helps here. A therapist, teacher, or friend can help you sort out whether a doubt reflects real limits or temporary frustration. Push the idea too far, though, and it can tip into overconfidence, trading healthy uncertainty for bad judgment.
Still, for anyone stuck in the messy middle stretch of a goal, the point feels humane. Your doubt is just a thought. Question how valid it is, then decide your next move with a little more agency.
The post Don’t Doubt Yourself or Your Goals, Doubt Your Doubts appeared first on VICE.
