Doubt can be a powerful distraction.
Doubt can keep us from navigating our way through unknown waters. We’re afraid we’ll fail, or won’t like it, or will get it wrong, or will be mocked, or taken down, or we’ll change so much our friends won’t recognize us, or we won’t finish, or we’ll be alone.
Some of these things might very well happen. But we don’t know that they will.
Doubt is stringing out stories. Parts of us are listening.
Hello there, Doubt. We see you. We feel you. We hear you. Is there anything we can do that will make you feel more comfortable? Yes? Great. We’ll give you a little bit of that: some calculations on a napkin, a little research, a few forays closer, some practice, an initial conversation.
Hello there, Doubt. Feeling more comfortable? Not really? Ah. Well. Let’s just dive in. Let’s just start to swim. Let’s just keep swimming anyway.
The shore is inside us. Let’s head out on the water.
What have you been doubting lately? I’ve been doubting my ability to write a literary novel. I start to write and immediately everything that is wrong with it comes forward. What do I do? Re-center and just let words come. I’m diving in, and the story is unfolding. Will it be good? I don’t know. I can’t know. All I can do is swim. How about you?
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