There's always some reason to feel not good enough - Overcoming self doubt by 'Daring Greatly'

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Dear family of WA who feel self-doubt (That will be everyone, because we all do)

My adventures in the Arena

I wanted to share some lessons I have learned during my crazy life. I have messed up, I have failed, I have felt unworthy, I have felt shame, I have on many occasions doubted if I could continue showing up to this life, let alone fighting my way to success. But I am always willing to at least try, to have the courage to put myself into the arena.

Theodore Roosevelt said it best, 'The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena'. I have tried many business start-ups and failed, I have tried many network marketing schemes that didn't work. I have worked at many jobs, and been incredibly successful, but they just weren't a satisfying enough arena to keep me motivated and interested. Each time, I picked myself up and dusted myself off and re entered a new arena.

If you are here at WA, you are in the arena. You are trying and have had the courage to be vulnerable and risk judgment. Many of you may not have written ever, or since school, and then at best no more than one thousand words at most. You may be writing in a second, or new language, and to you I offer my highest respect.

Be proud that you have stepped into the WA arena, that has taken courage.

Have the Courage to be Vulnerable

There is no greater courage than that of being vulnerable. When you tell someone you love them for the first time, you open yourself up to them not reciprocating and being left heartbroken.

When you write you open yourself up to a whole new kind of vulnerability. When I wrote my very first blog here at WA I saved it and read and re wrote it many times. It was paused in my fear of judgment, and my own self-doubt. I was stuck questioning, Am I good enough? Will people even want to read this? What if I fail? I find writing hard? My spelling and grammar and sentence structure are not great. Do I have time for this?

Eventually I got the courage to release my first blog out into the WA world, very few people read it and I felt, maybe all of my feelings of doubt and fear were justified. But then I decided to write another blog, and become more active reading blogs, and then each day I would write and read some more.

I began to have more courage to be vulnerable, to put my work out into the public domain and love and enjoy the process come what may. If one person read it or found value, then that was all I could wish for. Helping one person or being heard by one person, was better than helping, or being heard by none.

Have the courage to be vulnerable. Every single writer or creative person has had to start somewhere. As Kyle states in his training, You do not have to be an expert writer or write academically, you just need to connect and speak to people, to help people, and nothing connects or speaks or helps people more than the courage to be vulnerable.

Choose Trust Over Fear

With trust, life starts to open up. we are able to embrace opportunities, have fun and make the most of our time on this earth. Trust offers us freedom from fear, because if you trust this is where you are meant to be, if you believe you are meant to write, and make a success of this, then that will cure you of your self-doubt.

Fear pretends to be your friend, but then has you worrying about what other people think. Fear robs you of your sleep, perspective and your self belief.

When you face self-doubt, picture yourself at a crossroads with two roads pointing in opposite directions. You can either choose fear and self-doubt, which will keep you frozen at the point you are now or you can choose to trust. If you pick trust this will lead towards your vision and a courageous life. So which road will you choose?

What would you do if you were not afraid, if you did not doubt yourself? Now go do that!

Just as Erin Hanson wrote 'What if I fail? Oh but my darling what if you fly?' So please my WA family go fly.

Dare Greatly

Failure can be your greatest teacher, so go and fail big, if you have to. But when you fail dust off the sweat and the blood and strive valiantly again, and again. Practice is the Key.We are all practicing. None of us gets to be perfect.

There is no magical holy grail of a blog, so write, write as often and as best you can, work on your website as often and as best you can. Each day, you and it will get better, and if it fails, if you fail, that is OK, learn the lessons and get back up and start again.

In the end it is those of us that stand in the arena, that have the courage to be vulnerable, who choose trust over fear, 'Who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, If we fail, at least we failed daring greatly!'

You have got this, We have got this!

Much Love

Sara

This post is dedicated to those of us filled with self-doubt and Theodore Roosevelt's Speech "Citizenship in a Republic".

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Recent Comments

53

Great post Sara, thank you for inspiration.

You are very welcome, as always x Thanks for reading : )

Hi Sara,

Thank you for another great encouraging and inspirational post.

Michael

You are welcome Michael. Thank you for reading : )

You’re putting it out there right when it’s playing heavily on my mind. Thank-you Sara, another timely and motivating post. I love that - “the courage to be vulnerable”. I am working through that at the moment, another quote I really like is from the amazing Jim Carrey “Risk being seen in all of your glory”.

Lisa, I love Jim Carrey! and that quote really summarises what I am trying to say : )

The irony was even putting this 'out there' filled me with some self doubt.

The thing is, who sets the bar, the standard, if it not ourselves? How many views or comments means we have succeeded? If I had just got your comment I would have considered this success.

We are not going to be confident all the time, we are going to fear and doubt. But every time we stand in the arena in spite of that, I believe we are a success.


Much Love as always : )

Another great encouragement for me. Thanks dear.😊

You are welcome 🙏 as always x

Hi Sara,

A post that not only can I identify with but have total empathy with, the first paragraphs remind me of times in my life, when things have gone totally wrong, but we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and start all over again, to quote he song.

Take care,

Stuart

Yes Stuart we have to get up over and over! Otherwise the alternative is just to stay down or do nothing! 👍🏻

That is so true.

PMA = Positive Mental Attitude!

Something we all need but tend to fight with, as our inner self tells us we are not good enough. Self-doubt is the road to ruin.

I have never failed, but many times I have found out how to do things the wrong way.

Derek

Yes so true Derek, more often than not, it is our self sabotaging! Thanks for reading and sharing your experiences 🙏

My very feelings about writing and posting my first blog.Thank you for posting.

Thank you Debbie for reading my blog and taking the time to comment, it is appreciated. : )

You are on a role lady,

Fear of failure is so real it can be crippling,

Wonderful, encouraging and aspirational post.

I work in substance misuse field (prison)
Every day I go into work I look my guys in the eye and say, you are not bad men you may have made poor decisions and it can be changed, but if you take the same road you will end up with the same result.
I see fear and vulnerability and help them overcome it, and yet I am sometimes so fraught with fear I end up doing nothing.



Physician heal thyself..👀 ha ha

I encourage the guys to Have goals, Big Hairy Audacious Goals,

Self Worth and liking the person in the mirror, look at him and smile and say “I’m worth it”

Loved your post... ❤️ Xx

Thank you so much, Cordelia. It is so true, they just made bad decisions. Otherwise if there is no forgiveness, no chance to choose again, there is no hope!

yes Lets go forth and make Big Hairy Audacious Goals!! Love it

Much Love

Hi Dara
You have given us all some fantastic advice. We can overcome fears if we simply focus, set goals and take action
All the best
Jim

Thanks Jim : )

Sara,
I love this message and the wisdom behind your words that we have a choice. So when I fear I will choose to use that fear as a catalyst to not be frozen but to push me harder in seeking the dream I have for me. When I fail (which we all do) I will choose to learn from the failure and push forward always pushing forward!!

Yes Yes Yes you got this Girl !! : ) Go forth and Dare Greatly

Much Love
Sara

Thank you for such enthusiastic encouragement!

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