Wikipedia defines doubt as “a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, distrust or lack of conviction on certain facts, actions, motives, or decisions. Doubt can result in delaying or rejecting relevant action out of concern for mistakes or missed opportunities.”
Whew. That’s a word. We all know this dance. It has stopped so many of us from producing the work that we know is within is to create. If you are currently sitting in doubt, I’d like you to know that I am too. I have my editorial letter in hand and I have my process for addressing edits in the other hand and I am paused mid-task.
I got a start, the ideas are getting integrating, and I am thinking it through, but—the questions of how I’m going to get from here to there are making me squirm. The best thing I can do is acknowledge and cajole myself in continuing forward. The strategies that work for me are:
1. Patience
2. Persistence
3. Talking or journaling about it
4. Diving in!
How do you deal with doubt? It’s always there. The question is not how to stop having it, but how to navigate it. Humans dance with doubt, period. People who successfully create despite doubt are those who find a way to walk around it, step over it and push through it.
Wishing you the best with your doubt today!
—K.