This ties in with learning how to have Sympathetic Joy. It's very difficult. There's going to be a lot of resistance. That is Mara's trick. There's going to be a lot of resistance towards developing this balanced view of ourselves, to not just focus on the negative things that we didn't do well enough, that we failed in doing. We need to develop that capacity to reflect on our good qualities and the good that we do, and not take them for granted. It's quite important to balance Mara, who has this resistance to doing this type of reflection, because doubt is a big one.
If you see the Buddha statue with the hand touching the ground, that's a good image to remember. When doubt is giving you a problem, especially during your meditation, touch the ground. Then remember that doubt came up even for the Buddha. At the moment just before his enlightenment, Mara says, "What right do you have to sit here? What right do you have to become enlightened?" The Buddha touched the earth to bring the earth to witness that he had the capacity to become enlightened.
Doubt is something that Mara will use right up to the end. Doubt is supposedly gone at the level of stream-enterer, the first stage of enlightenment. We have to try to remember there are two sides of ourselves, and any type of self-image we're creating is just a thought. Learning how to focus on our good intentions is often very helpful so that we're not seeking outside for praise, for a feeling of self-worth from others.