Doubt isn’t necessarily bad, in fact, it’s inherently healthy. It is a bi-product of fear and fear is designed to protect us, to stop us from playing with that seemingly friendly grizzly bear, from eating the wrong color berries. Doubt is essentially a precursor of fear – Is this safe? Is this right? Is this wrong? Doubt is designed to jump start our reasoning, to ask us to examine the situation and weigh the outcomes. It’s like a Stop sign. Doubt gives you pause, asks you to check both ways, and proceed with caution.
The problem is when it becomes a roadblock. We can’t allow doubt to shackle us in place. I experienced this first hand with my move to the city. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we can’t allow doubt to transform to fear and paralyze us. If I had fed into my feelings of doubt I wouldn’t have moved, wouldn’t have met my new friends, many of whom I now care for deeply, and wouldn’t be writing this book! And that would be a tragedy! (Don’t forget to recommend this book to your friends and family)
I’ve seen what can happen when you’re afraid. You plateau. You think convince yourself that the risk isn’t worth it and you deny yourself an entire world of possibilities! Some people claim to want adventure, but only in the abstract. When faced with an opportunity to actually get out there and have experiences, the doubt monster says “Whoa, whoa whoa! We don’t know what’s out there!” And instead of recognizing that that is exactly what makes it an adventure, fear takes hold and says “Let’s just stay here where it’s safe, where it’s comfortable”. When that happens, we run the risk of being left behind. And that would be a true tragedy.
