How to Kick Doubt Into the Past

Do you know who you are?

Do you know what you stand for?

Do you know what you would stand up and fight for and against?

Doubt.

Have you ever experienced doubt?

Doubt about your abilities? Doubt about your choices? Doubt about your decisions? Doubt about a relationship? Doubt about your health?

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Doubt is crippling.

It can stop you dead in your tracks.

It creeps into your day in silence.

It prompts you to question what you did, what you are doing, and what you are planning to do.

In this period of “shelter-at-home,” “safer-at-home,” and “self-quarantine,” doubt questions our habits and our choices.

AND self-doubt? Self-doubt deals the same blows, but it can be more dangerous.

More dangerous because it gets in the way of being creative and productive and leads creatives to resistance.

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There will always be doubt in the back of your mind, BUT doubt is something that you can fight against. It may be a daily fight, but you will be better for it.

Here are five ways to fight against doubt and self-doubt that I use.

THE POWER OF A MEMORY

Memory is a powerful antidote for self-doubt. When you feel doubt creeping over you, it is time to take a step back and reflect over the times you have made good, even great decisions. When you have created something wonderful.

COMPARE YOURSELF TO YOURSELF

Comparison is a deadly enemy. So-and-so is a better ___ (you fill in the blank).

It really isn’t about whether or not you are better than someone else. It’s about whether or not you are better than YOU were a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, or even five years ago.

It is for this reason, I like to make lists and goals. It helps me see what I have attempted, what I have accomplished, and how far I have come.

JOURNAL

No matter what stage of life you are in, keeping a journal helps you record your real life.

Our memories can be fickle beasts. The memory will forget things that made an impact on us; it will forget things that we have suppressed; it will fabricate fantastic stories about things that never actually occurred; and it will lessen the hurt and pain behind memories.

Rereading those old journals can help fill in memory blanks.

EVALUATE YOUR CRITICS AND WHAT OTHERS SAY

It seems that everyone is a critic nowadays. Everybody seems to want to tell everyone else how to live and what to do. We have to listen to those critics, as my mother used to say, with a grain of salt.

Season the criticism with the person’s past. (Are they trying to help you avoid making the same mistakes they did with a “Do as I say and not as I did” attitude?)

Season the criticism with the person’s successes. (Are they trying to keep their success more important than your success so they don’t feel like a failure?)

Season the criticism with the person’s failures. (Are they trying to help you learn from their mistakes?)

Examine the criticism with clear vision. (Is what the critic saying, in part, the truth?)

Determine what, if any, part of the criticism is useful. (If I use the person’s insight, ideas, and honesty, will I be a better person or better at what I am trying to accomplish?)

USE A POWERFUL DAILY AFFIRMATION

I am an advocate of the daily affirmation said into the mirror while looking at yourself. Saying it with conviction, more than once if necessary. Standing tall and believing what you say.

Currently, my daily affirmation helps me feel that I am ok today and tomorrow will be better.

This is what I say to myself each morning:

Today, I am the best that I can be, BUT by making good decisions and choices, tomorrow I will be even better.

Thanks for reading.

AND

As you move through your day-to-day activities and responsibilities, please remember to

Live Life –

Keep Things Simple –

Look for the Positive –

AND

Smile.

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