I will use our story of our bike ride across Nicaragua to shed some light on how doubt may confound us. It begins with an idea; it may come from within or someone might share it with you. In my case the idea of the bike ride came from a friend. You begin to work idea, get a few people to come on board with you, they encourage you some more. You begin to put a strategy together, set dates to accomplish certain tasks, you put metrics in place to measure stages of success.
Now with fierceness you attack the vision, one month, two months….. Some of the people who were there to encourage you at the beginning are now gone, (where did they go?), some of the people who made commitments, now seem to have disappeared. This does not stop you, you work harder than ever. You are moving faster but the process is moving slower and you become tired and you begin to question yourself.
“If you are feeling tired, discouraged, under the weather, or lacking energy, that’s when doubts come in.” Everyone has those moments, so remind yourself that the way you’re feeling is temporary, and it will pass.
- Take a step backwards and look how far you have come. Go out and celebrate your achievements to date.
- Take a step backwards and “invest belief” in your dream. The process of accomplishing the dream can drain your belief gas tank. Refill it with all of the reasons you began.
- Gather your supporters around you, those who are your encouragers and cheerleaders. Let them help to refill your belief and dispel your doubt.
- Have faith in what you cannot see, touch, or feel. These senses will eventually follow.
- Triumph always follows struggle, not vice versa. Be careful how you interpret the struggle because struggle is an integral part of future success.