The other morning, as I lay awake at 4am as I often do, wondering why God decided I won’t sleep more than four hours like a normal human, I was plagued briefly as I sometimes am by sudden doubts. I’m working on a few challenging ventures right now, and suddenly I was asking myself vague questions like “What the heck makes me think I’m so special? How the HECK am I gonna pull this all off?” Actually, in my mind I was using a lot more expletives, but the fact was, I was plagued by a lot of doubt. So what did I do? I asked myself where the doubt was coming from, and had the familiar epiphany: MY OWN MIND. This made it easier to slay my dragons, get up, make some coffee, and start my day.
Later in the day, someone I’m working on a big project with sent me a few anxious messages about how they felt horrible that they may not be able to follow through on the project because of their already taxed schedule. A real sense of anxiety and regret came through in their texts and emails. I was already having a hectic day, so for just a moment, my brain went into “OH NO ALL HOPE IS LOST ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE” mode. And then you know what? I decided that this person was probably being attacked by the same doubt monsters I had been battling at 4am. These guys seem to travel quickly, and are relentless. So rather than asking my associate “OH MY GOD WHAT ON EARTH WILL I DO NOW” in a panic, I calmly replied, pointing out in a general way that maybe this was all more doable than they thought. And you know what? A few hours later, we were back on track, as if nothing had ever happened.
We’ve talked a lot about the monsters our self-talk seems to breed before, but I just thought I’d share the reminder that the next time your mind is over-run with Doubt Monsters, just put on your Mental Dragon Slayer Outfit, and don’t be afraid to enlist the aid of a friend to help you do battle. These dragons are usually more flaming breath than bite. And just like when humans are blowing a lot of hot air, if you just sit tight they’ll eventually cool down and go away.
