Doubt. It’s often the one thing holding us back from reaching our fullest potential. Me and Doubt, we know each other well. I regularly doubt my knowledge, strength, abilities, worthiness, potential, talent and so on. On a daily basis, doubt battles for control over the dialogue in my mind. Doubt is commander-in-chief of the demons that stand between me and success. Those demons on a constant quest to defeat me, deflect me and generally suck the wind from my sails. When we listen to those demons, we feed the doubt. When we spend our time questioning ourselves, comparing ourselves and taking pity on ourselves, we do nothing but give power to doubt. Doubt holds us captive in a defeatist dialogue…
I CAN’T
I DON’T KNOW HOW
I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH
I’M TOO OLD, TOO YOUNG, TOO WEAK…
This dialogue does nothing but feed on itself. We become crippled by it, ceasing to make any progress towards our goals and dreams.
How do we change the dialogue? How do we loosen doubt’s grip and take back control? It’s simple. Not necessarily easy, but simple nonetheless.
WE GET TO WORK.
We take steps, every single day, no matter how large or small, towards the goals and the life we desire. We start DOING instead of THINKING. When we put our heads down and do the work we’re stripping doubt of it’s power. Those small steps begin to build a foundation towards something greater, they begin to empower us. With empowerment the dialogue changes to…
I CAN
I WILL
I’M CAPABLE, WILLING AND ready
Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Stop waiting for the perfect time. Stop thinking so hard. Stop trying to concoct a flawless plan. Stop focusing your attention on what you can’t do and start asking yourself what you CAN do. Do what you can but most importantly, just start doing. If you try and fail, try again. Failing may be a setback but you’re still farther ahead than you’d be if you never tried at all.
Doubt kills progress. Showing up and doing the work, every single day, choosing to believe in yourself and your abilities, that’s how you overcome doubt. That’s how you create a life you can be proud of, no matter the outcome.
