"Failure is the Most Readily Available Option" and other wisdom from Uncle Chael

In this excellent clip modern-day philosopher (read: former-UFC fighter turned broadcaster) Chael Sonnen talks about self-doubt. Whilst he's talking in the context of combat sports, the principles are highly applicable to Indie Hacking. Combat sports and Indie Hacking are two examples of pursuits that are pure in the sense that you can't fake being good or competent at them for long.

Here are some of my favorite bits, with IH translations:

This just isn't physical, I've got a mental problem

When burnout hits Indie Hackers, sometimes it's not (just) because of the long hours. It's the stress, the fear of failure, the people depending on you, the fear of humiliation

I realized that everybody is going through it. I used to think there was something wrong with me. I used to be really embarrassed about it

Indie Hackers all suffer from imposter syndrome and self-doubt. It's normal.

[Randy Couture explained that you] can never defeat the second-guessing or the negative voice in his head [...] and he learned that you've just got to compete with it [...] self-doubt and negative talk is the road to failure.

The self-doubt won't go away. Realize that you just have to continue in spite of it.

So many times we try to find the right emotion. What emotion is going to help you? This is what helps you [shows fists]. Forward motion, getting your legs back, getting up off the bottom, working the whole time, those are actions. Not one of those was an emotion

Validating your idea, talking to customers, making sales, improving products, improving marketing. These are actions. These at the very least will provide you with information and keep you moving forward