The Plague of Self Doubt
There is a “law” about our emotions that goes like this:
“By the fruits ye shall know them.”
When we have an emotion, (a combination of a feeling plus a thought) we will act on that emotion in some way. That’s our principle #3 — Emotions lead to action.
How do we use these principles?
Suppose we are doubting ourselves. You know the feeling: “I know that I’m not going to be able to do this” …. “I’m never going to be able to make enough money” ….. “Just my rotten luck.” …. “I’m never going to get it right.” ….. “No matter what I do, it just won’t turn out right.” etc.
Do you want to feel that way? No, of course not. Yet the solution seems to be like this: Try harder. Do more. Get up earlier. Learn how to do it better. Just quit whining about it and get busy.
The problem is - it’s not really that easy, and we know that internally. So most of us give up and just live with those feelings and try to muddle through.
Use the “by the fruits” principle. What is the “fruit” of self-doubt? Well, the fruit is that we are pretty miserable inside. The fruit is that we stay stuck. We can’t really improve, because we know we can’t. We don’t really try, because if it’s impossible, why waste our effort? We limit ourselves and just don’t let ourselves get in situations where we have to stretch. That way we can at least protect ourselves from those horrible doubts.
Now, in a real garden, if a farmer didn’t like the fruit, he would change what he planted as a seed, wouldn’t he? He wouldn’t continue to grow zucchini if he decided he hated zucchini.
We can do the same thing. Change what we plant. Look at the feeling and the thought that creates the fruit of self doubt. What do we believe? What do we think? Change them. Instead of believing, “I cannot do anything right,” think, “I am working hard to be successful, and I believe that I can do this.” Instead of thinking that life is hard, think, “I am meeting this challenge successfully, and I know that I can get through this.”
It makes a world of difference to know what we are feeling, look at the fruit, and decide if we want to plant a different kind of feeling and thought. It isn’t hard at all for the farmer to change the seed he plants. It isn’t hard for us to do that either.
