289. filled with doubt
One of our ego’s favorite paths of resistance is to fill us with doubt. It stems from issues with self-esteem, and a fear of not having an ability to succeed with our endeavors. Instead of helping us rise to the occasion, it says “You don’t need this challenge, you are perfect as you are. It’s not you who needs to change, but everyone else.”
Said aloud, this sounds rather ridiculous, but believe it or not, this is how most people’s subconscious mind works in day-to-day life. Our biggest problem, as Ram Dass put’s it, is that we’re “too busy holding onto our unworthiness.”
In other words, our ego keeps us stuck in the safest possible place. One that never challenges, but always confirms. It is resistant to change because change means the death of a certain identity — a.k.a. our ego. But for any of us to build a life we want, we’re going to have to face the fears that our ego set in place — one’s of not being good enough to succeed — so that we can eventually learn what it takes to be good enough, at which point the ego that held us back will cease to exist.
184. if it doesn’t scare you…
If what you do doesn't scare you, you're not trying hard enough.
We often find the excuse not to do things because we are waiting for the perfect confluence of events to produce something spectacular. We do this because we are afraid to fail, but it is the execution and the continual practice that will allow you to deliver the result you're after.
No one hits a home run every time they step to the plate. The great hitters strike out more than they connect, but what separates them from others, is that they swing for a home run every time. They don't let creeping doubt play a part in their efforts. They execute every time they step to the plate, and because they do so they are able to deliver results.
Do they fail? Yes. Does is suck? Yes. Will there be critics? Yes. But, will they be who they are if they didn't continually execute? No!
We can always find a reason not to put ourselves out there. It can be fucking scary to show the world who you are. It requires a certain amount of vulnerability, and for most, that's enough of a reason to hide, or not to try.
We forget that the ones we look to for inspiration didn't start out hitting home runs. They put themselves out there, swung and missed continuously until they found their groove.