Flipping Self Doubt

Copyright 2014, Sean Howard. Model is Eli McIlveen.

Self doubt can debilitate. It weakens our resolve and destroys our motivation. Worse, it is hard to spot and, once identified, difficult to fight off.

I was chatting with a friend about my Stop Dreaming and Start Doing PDF. They were working through one of the exercises and attempting to reframe a lack of confidence. Reframing is where we flip a perceived weakness on its head and explore how it actually gives us significant benefits.

I was stumped at first. How does one go about reframing self doubt?

In a world drowning in soulful advice to "just do it", "be happy" and "live the dream", it is only natural to expect our vocation to be a path of motivational posters, cheerleaders and the warm support of friends and loved ones. But what if this path was never supposed to be easy? 

Following our hearts means opening ourselves to risk, pain, soft sadness, loneliness, heartache and endless self-questioning. And as I'm reading in Pressfield's War of Art, each of these is easy fodder for resistance. Questioning ourselves can quickly become self-doubt. Loneliness can lead to distraction. Pain can direct us to turn away from our true purpose.

So here is my reframing for anyone out there who is questioning or doubting their abilities. You are a true warrior of the soul to even risk entering this territory of the heart and your true vocation/calling. The self-doubt is the sound of the enemy rallying their troops before you. It is the sign of the battle being called and the enemy is scared.

This is why most people sit unhappily at their desk jobs, waiting to win the lottery or die. I'd say they are scared, but so are we. The difference is that they are not yet warriors. 

So when you find yourself in a state of self doubt, raise your banner and charge forward with a warbling cry. You have entered into battle with the only forces that truly matter to your soul and the world.