Doubting Yourself

"Whether you think you can or think you can't. You're right."- Henry Ford

Has this ever happened to you? You know you are more than capable of doing something, but somehow convince yourself that you are not?

You have concrete proof to back up what you know you can do, yet you are plagued by this idea that you just can’t do it.

Sometimes that is the position I find myself in.

The dream to write and share has been inside of me for years. And now that I am finally doing it, the dream is growing. Stretching me. Challenging me. Pushing me to explore new areas, to go further outside of my comfort zone. And in the process self- doubt wants to be a part of it all trying to ruin things.

In a previous essay, I wrote about setting intentions that would move me out of my comfort zone and require me to follow through. 

So I set my intentions and created action plans around them.

And yet….Self-Doubt wanted to loom.

What is it about believing in yourself that can be a challenge sometimes? What is it about letting go of the old stuff that wants to tag along on your new journey? It can’t come. It can’t be a part of this new thing God is trying to do in your life, even though it wants to.

Part of being able to put self- doubt in its rightful place starts with me (and you) leaning hard into our faith. But what does that look like? What does it look like to lean hard into our faith in times of self- doubt?

It looks like being a woman of prayer. Taking every doubt, fear, and insecurity and laying them down before God.

It looks like sharing my struggles with those I trust, fellow dreamers, companions on the journey who get it.

It looks like moving forward in spite of the doubt and doing the things that scare me. The exact things that are causing me to doubt my ability to do them.

It looks like confronting the doubt at its root. And being real about where it comes from?  Am I doubting myself because of what someone said about me? Doubting myself because I failed before and think I will fail again? Doubting myself because I don’t think I am worthy, that I somehow don’t have the right to live my God-inspired dream?

It looks like taking a piece of paper and writing down every single accomplishment (big or small) and posting it anywhere and everywhere I can to serve as a reminder of my power, my strength, my abilities and my dreams.

It looks like taking every individual doubt and transforming it into something positive I can believe and own as my new truth.

It looks like being mindful of the things I tell myself about who I am. And stepping fully into who God says I am.

It looks like faith in something bigger than me. Reminding myself that God has me and is not going to let me go.

This is what leaning hard into faith looks like for me. What does it look like for you?

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If you know someone whose self-doubt is getting in the way of their God-inspired dream, share this post with them. As always sharing is a good thing.

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