Less Doubting, More Doing

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I was once at a conference with an energetic motivational speaker. Everyone seemed to be in sync, but on the way out the door, I heard people say:

• I’m not an expert.
• I don’t know where to start, so I end up not doing anything.
• Everyone else is ahead of me. I’ll never stand out.

Here’s the reality: If you wait to pursue your goals until you’ve conquered all your insecurities, you’ll be waiting forever! So, let’s talk about how to change soft spots into strengths in the June series, Raise Your Game.

A Young Woman Changes Her Mind and Her Life

Humans of New York profiled a young woman who thought a dead-end job was her only option. Here’s her story:

“I used to work as a producer at a media company. It was one of those cultures where you worked until you had nothing left to give.

My boss’s voice would be the first thing I heard every morning. He’d phone me at 5 AM. He’d put me down. He’d shout at me during meetings. I wasn’t allowed to do anything on the creative side. I could only handle the budgets. Once I asked him if I could leave early one day to take a course in art direction, and he said, “What makes you think you could succeed at something like that?” That’s when I finally quit.

…The more distance I got from the job, the more I realized that I’d allowed myself to be pigeonholed. I started trying to save money to attend the New York Film Academy, but it was so expensive that I decided to put all the money into gear instead. And for the past couple of months, I’ve been making short documentaries about people. I’ve got only a couple of months of savings left, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m using all my talents. And I’ve never had this much fun.”

Conquer Your Doubts Through Doing

Just like the woman, we’ve all had insecurities like, “What makes you think you could succeed at something like that?”. But the takeaway from her story is that self-doubt doesn’t have to be the boss of you, where you postpone your dreams until you’re an expert or the most charismatic person in the room.

She addressed her doubts through doing, tapping into the soft skill of creativity. For the moment, being perfect isn’t her concern. Instead, she’s raised her game through constant experimentation—that’s how she’s discovering what’s perfect for her.

Take the Creativity Challenge

Use your creativity to replace doubting with doing by using these techniques:

• Make it fast by taking 30 seconds to affirm, “It’s easy to try new things. That’s how I discover what works for me.”
• Make it deep by taking 30 minutes to reflect on how you’ve stopped yourself. Has someone else’s nasty criticism accidentally become your internal self-talk?
• Make it real by hitting the mute button on your doubts for the next seven days.

There are a million little ways for you to get started and make progress this week. Start doing.