Doubt

If there's one thing my recent adventures have taught me, it's that there's no room for doubt when you're taking action.

Sure, we all know what it feels like to second guess ourselves, to stay awake late at night wondering what's going to really happen, imagining all of the worst-case scenarios we can dream up while wallowing in a sea of confusion and uncertainty. It's life, it's human nature, it's a part of who we are as animals but it's also a useless force that drowns us before we can ever start swimming and stops us before we can ever start moving.

We all need to know and respect our limitations and account for them in our plans. But there's a time for reality checks, and there's a time for marching forward. Sometimes, even in the face of overwhelming odds we need to press onward, sometimes, even in defeat, we need to hold our heads triumphant, sometimes, even in our darkest hours, we need to find a ray of hope inside ourselves.

It's too easy to doubt, it's too easy to take a look our situation, pronounce it hopeless and throw up our hands tossing aside any belief we had in ourself along the way. It's much harder to work through our feelings of doubt, to quell our self-destructive nature and to press onward when others would have quit. However, it's much more rewarding to do so.

Half of the struggles in life involve overcoming the obstacles placed in front of us, the other half involves overcoming the ones we place in front of ourselves and if we're not ready for both, then we're immediate failures. On that note, doubt is one of the surest paths to failure and one of the first things we must conquer.

However, that's something that's much easier said than done and that's why, even today, I find myself wrestling with doubt, almost endlessly. But at least now I know my enemy, at least now I can fight it on its own terms and at least now I have a chance at winning. Where once I just succumbed at first sight, I now press on as long as I can.

That's a step that many before me failed to take, but one I hope many after me do and do so better than myself and the others before them. That's the only way we can make progress because only those who believe they can change the world do so and only the wise men who know when to push aside doubt reach their full potential.

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9 Responses to Doubt

  1. Ashleigh says:

    Wow, this sounds like an inspirational speech more than a rant. It's nice. I know it gave me a little more strength to fight my troubles and worries away with. Good job.

  2. Belinda says:

    This one is good.It seems to give off hope and give stranghth to a person that is weak inside.Its very conferting and wisdomy like.I like it.

  3. Brandie says:

    That reminds me of something I heard once:

    "There are no lessons in winning. There are a thousand in defeat."

    I love that, because it means no matter how many times you fall, you still get up.

  4. Otsego says:

    inspirational.

  5. Rocky says:

    Raven…i'm sad to say…but you're a fucking GOD…i'm belittled by your gift…i envy you…never stop writing…die before you do so…

  6. Zohra says:

    I agree, doubting is very easy then fighting against the doubt itself. But then fighting with doubt is much easier as compare to AFTER you've been put down and you doubt yourself. That eats you like an insect (mite) would eat a wood and in the end nothing would be left.
    Would you share how would you fight against all the flaws people and time has shown you of yours. You wanan fly n reach the stars, you've been fighting for that uptill now but then after few years you are in worse situation then every b4. Although you've learnt alot but then you realize you lost a lot of things just to proove yourself and life would have been better if you wouldnt have fought back then coz you are not there still where you want.
    My life's a doubt these days. I aspire power from your words.
    keep writting! You've got the right words for the right people. (You never know when it would make difference).

  7. Laura says:

    Found your site from another blog and wanted to see where I could find more info

  8. Cornelia says:

    I'm a second year Medical student. We just had our end of year exams and I think I missed a few important details in the exams. I've never felt the way I do right now; with all this fear and doubt eating me up. You just gave me hope to hold on and believe that my Creator will comfort me and the results might not be as bad…

  9. Kyra says:

    Thanks raven. I often come to your site to see what I haven't read yet and on this particular day when my doubt it the worst I have ever known it… I happen to stumble across this. Maybe there is some hope left for me after all… Thanks for writing like you do.

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