The Power of Doubt and the Fear of Failing

The Fear of Failure and the Power of Self-doubt.

One great line I have read and that makes so much sense to me on issues surrounding the fear of failure and self-doubt is this:

To be wounded is to be human. What makes us unique is how we protect our wounds, which makes up the personality we show people. – STACEY J. WARNER 

Think of the last time you told yourself something critical or negative. Then think of the last compliment you gave yourself.  Which is easier to remember?

Words can be positive or negative depending how they are used. Take for instance the statements, “I doubt we’ll win”  versus “I doubt we will lose”. Doubt is a premonition of failure which retards efforts, extinguishes hope, and drives trepidation. Contrary to popular belief, failure is an inevitable part of every meaningful journey, but doubts keep you from ever starting that journey (or causes you to give up before the finish line).

What is Doubt?

Doubt is fear in the context of action: you need to do something but something may go wrong. Doubt comes early, it always comes before action. Failure comes later, after. Doubt is minimized by doing more and thinking less. You can fight with failures and find opportunities to learn but if you start doubting, you will refrain from taking actions.

Sometimes, it’s just all in your head. Doubts grow deeper after each failure and once your soul becomes used to failures, doubts take over and begin to reign. At this point, pep talks and motivational speeches won’t change a thing until or unless you find a perfect soul to help you out of that place and show you the positive side of things which is why I am writing the following quotes.

10 Quotes by Walt Disney to Overcome Doubts

1. All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
2. It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.
3. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
4. I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse.
5. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.
6. We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
7. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
8. Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.
9. The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.
10. There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.

Why Doubts Kill More Dreams Than Failure will Ever do

When you doubt, your mind believes what you feel and think, and then your mind is programmed to believe that your dreams are unachievable, but failure, typically, motivates you to try harder so that you succeed the next time you attempt to reach your dreams. Doubts make you sidetrack from your objectives. This can cause you turn to a wrong path, or even to give up completely.

When you fail, you become stronger and you make it one step closer to your goals. If you keep moving forward, you will eventually succeed at reaching the prize. Dreamers are not people who have disrupting ideas, but people who are willing to stand with their ideas during the time of failures too. Doubts hold us back from reaching our full potential. Failure is just a stepping stone. Without it, we cannot learn. It’s a part of the process.

Failure, typically, motivates you to try harder so that you succeed the next time you attempt to reach your dreams. Doubt can sidetrack you from your objectives because, as mentioned earlier, it comes early, before action. Embrace failures as it will only make you better if you learn from it. Your capabilities can improve whereas failure is just an event. Don’t let it amplify the darkness of self-doubt. They both work together and try to steal your dreams from you. Don’t let that happen. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Conclusively

There may be many failures in life, but treat each failure as a “lesson to be learned”. Never doubt yourself; you will win eventually. Keep the faith and know in your heart that “YOU CAN DO THIS”. One has to appreciate and believe in himself/herself despite the fact that his/her status may not be encouraging and regardless of the challenge he/she might be facing. He/she must remain focused and determined.

Doubts stops us from trying. Doubt is the biggest obstacle to success

and accomplishing anything in life. But failure creates room to reinvent, retry and possibly succeed. So don’t doubt, don’t hesitate. Go ahead and pursue your dreams. At the end of the day, failure can help us learn from our errors so that we get it right next time.

Just believe you can!

Replace your fears with faith and your doubts with determination.

Failure is a lesson, you can achieve greatness.