Doubt: Final Act (for now)

I sat with the Figure for a very long time. Just a few days shy of one month. I can’t really describe what I was doing while the audience waited for me to make a move. I know for sure that the Figure is still sitting there but I have risen from the couch. I would like to say that I leaped off, I really sort of peeled off the couch. Not the grand entrance to self-confidence as I expected.

I am writing on my blog now but that doesn’t mean I am rid of all doubt. I had some great conversations while on that couch; most conversations in my head and then with supporters who gave me the look of, “Whatever the excuse; just do it” And with those thoughts, that’s what I’m doing. The “Just Do It” Nike marketing campaign folks are geniuses on this one.

Doubt likes to linger in places in your mind. I look on my couch and the Figure is still there, but it’s frozen. The thing with doubt is that it waits for you. It waits for you to open up to it and invite it in. Like the movie vampires; they can eat you if you let them in.

For right now, here’s my action plan for Doubt.

1. Work on a task.

2. If Doubt enters the door, turn to it, look it squarely in the eye and say “Hey”.

3. After exchanging salutations, let Doubt explain why it has arrived. Things like you are lazy, not creative, not assertive, boring, and nobody cares. Let Doubt talk to you and you will notice that it basically says the same thing over and over again. Talk about a lack of creativity. Doubt has some nerve, right?

4. After Doubt has bored you with mundane repetition, extend your appreciation for the feedback and tell Doubt that if it doesn’t have anything interesting or nice to say, then it should leave you alone.

5. Return to working on task.