If you've ever doubted your ability to do great in your dream career, does that mean that you're not cut out for it or is that completely normal?

“If you hear a voice within you says you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”
― Vincent van Gogh

It's not always that easy, but ultimately, Ayanna. You are better off listening to your internal compass than an external one. If you feel the drive to do something then you need to pursue that. One experience does not a career make. You are always going to find yourself in situations where someone may not assess your skill sets correctly or that they simply don't agree with your approach.

The fact that a former manager "belittled" you makes me question that person's ability to accurate judge anyone. There are far better methods for criticism and management. Take her or his feedback with a grain of salt. This does not mean that you throw out all critiques from everywhere, but do two things: 1) assess the source of the judgement and 2) really listen (away from the noise of the world) to what you know in your heart to be true.

Good luck. Keep painting.

You shouldn't feel that way at all! It is completely normal!

Keep in mind that self-doubt and feeling unsure are actually valuable survival mechanisms because if you handle these thoughts and feelings the right way you will grow from the experiences that brought these about. Be responsive to this experience, honestly assess your ownself and plan for your next opportunity. Never get bogged down by setbacks or failures, but always learn and grow from them.

Don't lose sight of your dreams and understand the path to them often takes unexpected turns and twists.

Don't get down on yourself for getting down on yourself! You handled the situation correctly by taking time to reflect and reaching the conclusion that you should continue to try and be great in your dream career. You already have the advantage of realizing what your dream career is, and that is a HUGE step. Having a passion for your work is extremely important and is quite refreshing to most high-level people in the workplace. Long story short, it is completely normal - keep working towards it and be thankful you are no longer in a negative work environment! You just need to find the right team and mentor!

Don't let one experience define your future. You will find that different jobs mean a lot of different elements - stress, people, work load...those things can all add up to something a little less than you had hoped for. If you believe you have what it takes to succeed in your desired field then keep working towards your goal. The old saying holds true that only you can stand in your own way and only you can achieve your dreams.

Ayanna, not only have you survived a toxic supervisor, you've had a chance to think over what you want to do. Yes, you can do it. You can, when the time comes, help other people nurture their dreams too. You've learned a great lesson about what it means to nurture dreams. It's a shame you learned it the hard way. But you HAVE learned it.

Look, if your dream career was easy it wouldn't be much of a career. If you're like the rest of us, you'll have doubts sometimes. That's normal. It's part of going from good to great at the trade you're pursuing.

It wasn't normal to have that fool of a supervisor amplify your doubts. But you're not going to let one toxic supervisor control your life, right?

Go for it!