Doubts: Where would we be without them? Where are we with them?
We are quite complex as human beings aren’t we? There is such a diversity of thoughts in us and insurmountable depth. The complexity of these thoughts, inspirations and actions make us phenomenal creatures and a force to reckon. We have made some incredible things happen with our persistence and some others have stopped in the way due to a few fears, doubts and some other limitations. On that note, we touch our quote of the day:
“The Only Limit To Our Realisation Of Tomorrow Will Be Our Doubts Of Today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Not long ago, we discussed the quote : Our doubts are our traitors – William Shakespeare . Naturally, we talked about the limitations of these worries, why they occur and most importantly – what they are trying to tell you. With that in mind, today’s discussion follows a similar suite.
Doubts – Why are they here?
The first question I have is – why are these doubts even here? What is their purpose?
-> Denial says – I don’t care about worries. They are distractions with the only purpose of distracting us from our goals
-> Acceptance says – These doubts are telling me that I am weak. I will not be able to accomplish my goals because of so many limitations. And of course there are people who are so much better than me.
Both these schools of thought are wrong in their own ways. Nothing happens in pure vacuum. Both extremist thoughts don’t really help you achieve your goals. You would be fooling yourself if you ignore these worries or take them unnecessarily seriously. The trick always lies in fair moderation.
What are they telling you?
This is one of the most important questions to ask. What are these doubts telling you?
-> Fear: It is real! I don’t want to romanticise motivation by saying that fear is a wrong emotion – Fear is not real, but danger is. It is a very useful one. It tries to warn you of all the possibilities where things can go horribly wrong. It tells you that there are things to be take into account. Instead of taking this fear personally, ask the curious question – what is it trying to warn me about? It might be just that there are other things you need to tie to mitigate this risk
-> Weakness – Now this is a lie. A more logical response is that you might need additional training on some factors. I am tired of doubts and fears seen as enemies. Instead, they are just credible emotions with a message in them. Instead of treating them as outcasts, why not try to be a bit curious and see what they really are telling.
-> The Costs of getting it wrong – This is probably the most useful one. Every action or decision we take has an effect on us. The doubts are telling you about an eventuality when things go really wrong. It is asking you to get prepared and find out ways to mitigate the problems that may arise.
Granted that we will never be a 100% prepared nor mitigate every risk we face. But there is always something we can do about the problems or fears we have. If not solve the problem, we can mitigate. If not that, then we can think of something else creatively. Instead of letting fears debilitate us, there is a better sense in using these fears and doubts to get us closer to the goal
Defying your doubts
A beautiful challenge with these fears is also the ability to defy them and turn a blind eye. Yes, fears and doubts are debilitating. But they should never stand in the way of constructive action.
-> That’s where we need to draw a line between fear/doubts driving us. We are the masters of our lives and minds. If we let the circumstances take control and drive everything we do, we might as well give up even before we start.
-> The beauty lies in standing up to a challenge. This is nothing to do with heroism or braving challenges or even inspiration. It is just pure common sense.
-> The more time we spend on actions and emotions which can help us with our goals – we have a better shot at them. Instead, the more time we spend on these doubts, there is a strong likelihood that we will wallow in them.
After all, it always comes to the choices and decisions we make.
That’s our dose of motivation for the day about fears. Join us with your thoughts and comments below. I would love to know what you think
I thought doubt was governed by heuristics…like gut feeling, like hunch or like intuition.
But I am not the one who would question Roosevelt
Probably yes! But if you look closely our convictions and beliefs – the gut is also defined by heuristics and previous experiences. If we’ve seen many failures doubts become the first thought, if on the other hand we’ve had better successes the aspiration overcomes doubts. Neither of them are good or bad but it is us who are in control. At a decision making point if we are conscious of this and mindful of the thought process we are following, it surely can help how we approach the decision we make and the way we treat these doubts. After all they are nothing but just warnings disguised in different formats