University can be a reality check for many students when they set foot on campus. If you were a high achiever in high school, it can be shocking to see your grades drop, struggle with course material, or find it hard to connect with your peers. 

When I just started university, self-doubt crept in, and it took me some time to overcome it. If you relate to this, I'm here to share my own experiences with self-doubt and why students may undergo this. 

What is self-doubt? 

Self-doubt is a feeling in which an individual lacks confidence in their abilities or decisions. 

Here are some reasons I experienced self-doubt:

I was too afraid of change.

University can trigger deep feelings of self-doubt. It's quite normal to feel like everything is turning against you, especially when you enter a new stage in life. There is so much changing all at once. Students undergo identity shifts, face intense academic pressure and tend to compare themselves to their peers. 

A shift in environment meant that everything I knew and had grown familiar with became unrecognizable. I had to adapt to a new schedule, adopt a new study routine and relearn how to perform well. I didn't know anyone in my program, so on top of juggling academics, there was an underlying pressure to find my circle of friends immediately. 

Social comparisons became the default

Social comparison is the thief of joy. When you see everyone around you excelling, you default to negativity and start to feel behind. When we feel self-doubt, our brains tend to make comparisons. We seek proof that we are not good enough and we pick people who seem better than us to validate our inner critic. This acts as a defense mechanism, enabling us to avoid challenges and limit our opportunities. 

What I didn't realize 

What many students, including myself, fail to see is that change and challenge are good. We often see a student excel in class and remain incredibly involved, and we think, "wow, they have everything under control, while I'm failing." We easily make surface-level judgments, leading to doubt, negativity and discomfort. But what we fail to realize is that everyone, regardless of their level of success, undergoes self-doubt too. No one, regardless of their life stage, has everything figured out. Growth takes time and patience. 

How I overcame self-doubt and how you can too :)

University can make you feel like you're a small fish in the ocean. Entering a huge class, meeting professors who seem intimidating, or searching for a lab in a massive building with endless rooms can make you feel small, and it can be a big shift. As I said before, this is a normal feeling. 

Remember, things will get better. Over time, you will get used to your new routine, feel more comfortable approaching your professors, familiarize yourself with the campus, and begin to realize you are in the right place. 

Good luck to all incoming and current students as they navigate this! It took reflection, perseverance, and self-kindness for me to overcome self-doubt. When I allowed myself to stop listening to my inner critic, growth and success followed.