Hello, my fellow dreamers!
"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."
—William Shakespeare
In today's blog, I would like to talk about our doubts and fears and how to overcome them. We all question ourselves constantly about the path that we're on. Is this right for us? Am I making a good decision? What is the purpose of my journey in life?
These are all questions I've asked myself a million times. Self-doubt can be a troubling and very persuasive voice that holds us back. It holds you back from seizing your opportunities in life.
It makes getting started and, more importantly, finishing things harder than they need to be. It can sometimes be useful as it helps us see our limitations or see a realistic dream, or recognize when we have a half-baked idea.
When these fears and doubts bubble up in our mind, they disrupt our thought patterns. Don't let them spin out of control. Don't let a little nagging whisper turn into a shouting match of sentences in your head. In your mind, shout out loud "NO, NO, NO, we aren't going to go down that road again!"
Personally, I have a tendency to overthink everything. If I look at my past and ask myself how many times I feared or doubted things and thought something negative came out of it, the answer would be not too often. Oh sure, everyone's going to have negative things happen in their lives due to poor decisions. But, we must look at all the POSITIVE things that have happened in our lives as well. Turn the negative things into a learning experience.
Self-doubts are just monsters in your head and keep you from making a change because we are afraid to leave our comfort zone. So, take a look at your past and see how well things have gone despite those self-doubts. Thereafter, it will become much easier to let go of them and focus on the POSITIVE OUTCOME and to take ACTION to make the next left or right turn on your path.
Talk to someone close to you about your doubts and fears. By keeping them inside you, they become exaggerated. Let your fears out of the darkness into the sunlight. Just letting them out and saying them out loud can often help and put everything into perspective.
Don't compare yourself to other people's success. I have a tendency to do this myself. There's only one you; everyone else is taken. We can't compare ourselves to others because we are all different, and we all have our own special gifts and talents.
COMPARE YOURSELF TO YOURSELF! See how far you've come, what you have accomplished in life and what you have overcome to make you into that strong, creative, and passionate person you are.
As I've said before, KEEP A JOURNAL! Write in it every day. Think of it as keeping a REALISTIC record of your life. This will help you remember all the positive things, your successes, and how you have overcome the obstacles to getting there.
It's so much easier to gain clarity and alleviate your fears and doubts if you have everything laid out on paper—to read into the emotions you were feeling at a given time in your life. A good example of this is my blogs are written in a notebook before I even turn on my computer. I can reread, scratch out, and add things. It's a great writing tool for me.
You will have setbacks. I have had plenty! When you have a setback, you may start to see things through a dark lens. You might think that this is your new normal, and there's a point of no return on your journey.
So, instead remember this: you are not a failure just because you failed at something. Setbacks happen to everyone who takes chances. It's just a part of living everyday life. Not everything is going to be smooth sailing. Sometimes, things go great, and sometimes-- well, not so much. So, don't make a failure into your IDENTITY, because that's not who you are and be daring!
Use your mistakes as learning tools to move forward, but in a smarter way. Don't beat yourself up about it. Getting angry at yourself is a common emotion, but takes up a lot of energy that you can use to help you move forward. Be kind to yourself. Love yourself. Use understanding and loving words, whether it is in your head or your journal.
Arthur Golden wrote, "A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course of victory."
Celebrate the baby steps! It's when you take the small steps, you win! So, have your favorite glass of wine, spend some time on your favorite hobby or craft, or go out and buy that little something that you've wanted for a long time.
This will help renew and recharge your motivation on your journey to your dreams and goals. It will push all those self-doubts aside so that you can keep moving in a positive direction, so you can attain bigger steps and bigger wins.
When you have a dream or a goal, it's not like you can draw up a blueprint and everything will go smoothly. Builders and architects run into problems every day. Trying to plan your every move will make your journey draining and full of anxiety, which will lead to more self-doubt. We all know what they say about the best-laid plans, right?
Things will fall apart a bit or need some change, but don't let this STOP YOU from continuing on your path. You can tweak things along the way. Empower yourself with new knowledge, experience, and feedback. Allow yourself to listen to your heart, be compassionate with yourself, and do what you truly love.
I still harbor doubts. But I face the doubts and fears; I allow the clouds to clear from my mind, and I allow the sun to shine. May you always welcome the sunshine into your mind.
"The only limit to our realization of
tomorrow will be our doubts of today."
—Franklin D. Roosevelt
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