Everyone grapples with self-doubt once in a while, even successful business owners. A little self-doubt is not only normal, it's healthy. It prevents a leader from crossing the fine line between self-confidence and hubris.

Self-doubt is a special kind of hell. A small failure makes you question yourself and your abilities and, next thing you know, you feel like you aren’t good enough or smart enough to do anything. And that’s about the time you stop trying.

If you have developed a pattern of self-talk that is intrinsically negative, you are not alone. Far too many of us can be our own worst enemy when it comes to self-confidence. Rationally, it makes no sense to be mean to ourselves and yet we do it far too much.

The negativity we use when we think about ourselves ends up extending to all areas of our lives. We assume we are ‘no good’, ‘not good enough’, ‘not good-looking enough’, ‘too...