How you can overcome doubts

Do you ever go stale?

Whatever your motivation, no matter how well you plan, and no matter how smoothly things are going, it is going to happen. You wake up one morning without the fire that has kept you pushing on, Something seems missing. Those goals aren’t so golden. The vision isn’t so clear and you just want to roll over and sleep. So what is the problem? Did you get off course or is it just the way the cookie crumbles? Can you fix it and get your activities back on course or have you lost it for good?

There is no warning.

It just happens. You are working hard. You see the vision of where you want to be. You are putting the pieces in place. You start to live the lifestyle that you want. Suddenly and for no reason you begin to doubt. The excitement dies. Work looses meaning and becomes drudgery. Despite all you effort, you slide from focused excitement back into a life of doubt and confusion What does it mean and what can you do about it?

devil duckies (Photo credit: eyemage)

There are many ways to explain what is going on. You might call it life inertia which wants to pull human activity back from exceptional to ordinary. You might see it as the Devil who fights the extraordinary side of human nature and encourages ordinary and average by planting doubt where none is justified. Whatever the nature of the force, it is hard wired into the human psyche and impossible to ignore. It is easier and more natural to fail than to succeed and something deep inside pulls us back from success.. Success is uncomfortable enough but striving for success before you reach it is torture.

Self-doubt challenge your every action by questioning your worthiness.

 “Who do you think you are?”

“Why do you think you deserve to succeed?”

“What makes you so smart?”

Self doubt accompanies any journey into the unknown, particularly an ambitious one. Only a strong will can resist the call to fall back to ordinary efforts and expectations.

What can help?

Coaches (Photo credit: Luther College Photos)

In my experience, only one things works and that one thing is to ignore all those negative messages and keep going because once you stop,it’s all over. You lose everything and must start all over again.

When you keep moving something always happens to reveal that the negative messages are lies. But sometimes keeping going is hard to do without some help. One help is a companion on your journey who shares your vision and can encourage you when you are down, Another is a mentor/coach who can encourage and cheer you on when you have a good plan and are making progress.

Bottom line when you have a plan which reincorporates real, heart-felt dreams and goals and serious activity which you have vetted with people who know how to have what you want, just keep plugging whatever your mind tells you. You are too close to the action to judge. Sometimes progress is not incremental or measurable along the way. Work is incremental steady effort. Success is sudden and amazing when it comes.

Work your plan and trust your plan.