Doubts are Ok. Use them.
The other day I was chatting with a young woman who is at the very beginnings of her entrepreneurial career. She was frustrated with the fact that others around her were getting opportunities while she was being passed up. Her discouragement was tangible. Her heart was heavy.
I asked her if being passed up for opportunities was actually giving her the space to create her own.
We dived into a short and intense strategy session on HOW she could immediately start leveraging her multiple passions to develop her skills and create buzz around what she has to offer.
I realized that the insecurities and worries she was facing are the EXACT SAME ones I still struggle with to this day. Am I good enough? Will others see value in what I do? What if no one cares about what I share with the world? What if I do all this work, investing my heart and soul, and at the end of the day it’s not what I’m supposed to be doing? What if those who told me I shouldn’t pursue this work are right?
I know you can relate to at least one of those questions above. Even the most incredibly “successful” people I coach bring up the same thoughts and questions.
IT’S OK TO HAVE DOUBTS.
It’s what we do with the energy behind our doubts that matters.
I have learned that the difference between those who persevere and succeed and those who don’t really comes down to focus of energy.
You can focus your energy on proving naysayer wrong OR you can focus your energy on proving your supporters right.
You can focus energy on missed opportunities OR you can focus energy on creating your own.
You can invest energy in worry or you can invest energy in boldly working-it to build momentum (one small action step at a time!).
You can focus energy on needing approval and acclamation from outside sources or you can focus energy on expressing your passion and sharing your god-given talents simply because you FEEL ALIVE when you are doing it.
WHAT ARE YOU FOCUSING ON?
Any successes that I have enjoyed are born from PERSISTENTLY MOVING FORWARD (again and again and again). I guess one of my skills is simply listening to that teeny voice deep inside that says, “just keep going.”
On some very dark days that whisper of a voice has been my only light and hope. How about for you?
I see myself in that young budding entrepreneur looking my way with eyes weighted down by self-doubt. I get it. I know many of you get it too.
Faith in self can’t be strategized into existence or gathered up like a bunch of flowers. It can only be grown by investing in yourself. By stepping up and taking action to do what your gut is saying you need to. Faith in self is an evolving skill of investment, practice, expression and patience.
So let’s raise our glasses of support and say a resounding CHEERS! to that beautiful young woman struggling to become the best version of herself. You are on your path. Keep the faith. Keep the momentum. Stay true to yourself.
Stand up TALL when you stumble and remember that YES. YOU. CAN.
Cheers to your SUCCESS (whatever that means to you),
