doubt

Here is what I know about self-doubt: it can be debilitating, paralyzing, all-consuming. It can grow out of the most minor of comments, sideways glances and deep sighs. It can stop you mid-sentence, mid-step, mid-free-throw, fumbling into your next move with shaking hands and a furrowed brow.

Here is what I know about me: the tiniest iota of outside disapproval can, on occasion, multiply inside of me exponentially, filling me with big thoughts of all of my shortcomings. That tiny voice in my head (the one that is usually quieted by positive thoughts) gets louder and nastier and suddenly I can't hear myself think. It stops me in my tracks and I become horribly ineffective.

So given this knowledge, it seems to me that the most practical option would be to eliminate self-doubt; to ignore anyone who dares suggest that I am anything less than beautiful, brilliant, charming and talented. Not in a touchy-feely "I'm OK, you're OK" kind of way, but simply because it makes the most sense. Because I know that the moment I start to believe the naysayers, I run the risk of losing my way and, worse, proving them right.