Buddha wrote “There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills”.
Are you standing on the brink of doing something, but so full of doubt you just can’t take that first step? That small leap off the edge that means there is no going back.
Shakespeare said “Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise” and it is true that caution is a kind of wisdom, but if you let doubts become embedded they can be a self fulfilling prophesy ensuring failure before you even start. Doubting is easy; it’s believing that is the hard part, and any belief worth having must survive doubt.
Doubts are full of risks but they are also full of possibilities, if we stop to demand proof that all things are possible then doubt becomes fear in disguise. Julia Cameron wrote “Doubt comes to the door in darkness, pretending to be alone and in need of your compassionate ear. But if you let him in, he'll bring his friends”
The opposite of doubt is not certainty but trust; the trust that you have the courage to go ahead despite your doubts. Life is an uncertain journey full of questions that don’t come with answers, living means making a series of judgments, and doubts are a safeguard, a touchstone on reality.
Though it is true that great deeds are often conducted with the deepest conviction, if we wait until we can safely remove all doubts then belief will not survive. So believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts and just leap, you’ll make it.
Title quote by Bertrand Russell