If you commit to creating a life that lights you up, at some point
along the way you’re likely to hear the voice of doubt. “You
can’t do that,” it might say. “You don’t have what it takes.
That’s not practical. That’s impossible.”
I am consistently amazed at how often that voice of doubt is
wrong. The voice would have you believe that it is simply giving
you a picture of reality, but frequently it is merely reflecting a
negative view of reality that it has created itself.
One great way to take the wind out of the voice of doubt’s sails
is to take positive action and give it space to grow. Taking action
opens the door to possibility, and giving it space to grow (i.e.,
having patience) gives a positive outcome room to unfold.
Why is taking action so powerful?
Action creates opportunity
The voice of doubt is strongest when you can’t easily see the
possibilities. When you take action, it sets the game in motion. It
creates the potential for opportunities to appear that you could
never have known about while standing still.
Action can prove the voice of doubt wrong
When you take action, you create the opportunity to prove the
voice of doubt wrong (or at least raise serious questions about
the strength of its arguments). If you take no action, that
voice is right by default.
Action creates your reality
If you want to be something, take steps to become that,
whether or not that’s how you see yourself to begin with.
Think of the steps you take as the brush strokes with which you
create your masterpiece. You don’t start out with a work of art.
You start out with a blank canvas. It’s only through exploration
and action that the image starts to emerge.
Action creates positive certainty
The voice of doubt thrives on uncertainty. Any time you don’t
know for sure what’s possible, that voice is more than happy to
step in and fill that space with a negative certainty. When you
take action and start to have successes – even small ones – you
start to create a positive certainty.
Try this: Think of a vision you haven’t pursued because of that
voice of doubt. Make a list of steps you could take in pursuit of
that vision, both baby steps and giant leaps. Pick one that feels
doable, and take action. When you have done that, come back
to the list and choose another.
Please take a moment to share your perspective with this one-
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time, this will help guide this newsletter’s content.
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