Allison is about to land the client of her dreams when the last question asked by the prospect brings up a huge wave of DOUBT. Doubt seeps into her answer, and she loses the job to another candidate.
A client decides he wants to upgrade his business and signs off on your agreement on Friday. On Monday morning, he backs out.
He tells you he thought about it and “can’t afford it.”
He has what I call “buyer’s remorse.”
What really happened? He began to DOUBT. He isn’t really doubting your ability, but rather his own decision-making ability. Unfortunately, uncertainty about himself is what will prevent him from having the very results he says he wants to produce.
It is so easy to DOUBT – one’s choices, one’s knowledge, one’s worthiness, one’s persistence.
DOUBT destroys enthusiasm, creativity, innovation, joy.
DOUBT diminishes performance.
Ask any professional athlete and he or she will tell you that as soon as doubt creeps into the mind, the scoreboard swings in the direction of the opponent.
We stop ourselves from the very things we say we want by doubting our choices and our ability to do those things we truly yearn for in business and life.
Second-guessing ourselves and others is a national pastime that serves no one.
Have you ever noticed how your friends and family will so easily endorse your uncertainty, but not be quite so free to endorse your bigger dreams and desires?
I am not saying we should indiscriminately do everything we feel like doing. Yet there is a huge distinction between being thoughtful and DOUBTING oneself.
Now consider this: where would we be today if Bill Gates had let doubt trump his decision to drop out of Harvard, or if Steve Jobs had allowed doubt to stop his decision to leave Apple or if J.K. Rowling had doubted her passion for writing ?
Common wisdom says your first reaction is the right one. This is because you intuitively KNOW what is right for you. If you listen carefully to your inner wisdom, you will hear what it is that is right for you. It is when you refuse to listen to this inner voice that this lack of trust in yourself eclipses your confidence.
I say it’s time to dump DOUBT from our minds and prevent it from destroying the joy and passion for the things and experiences that make life rich, juicy, and joyous.
It’s time to transform your doubt into determination.
Where have you doubted a choice, doubted yourself, doubted others and robbed yourself of experiencing something you’ve really wanted? Were DOUBT right or wrong?
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