“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Fear rather that God will say to you “O you of little faith.”
Is there anything worse than doubt? Doubt destroys good ideas, action, endurance, persistence, even hard work. Doubt – the cause of mediocrity, the fall of man, the cause of buried ideas, the child of negative thoughts, the brother of fear, and a friend of failure. Shakespeare once said. “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt”.
We doubt that things might not turn out right and so we fail to try, and when we fail to try, we remain just as we are: no movement, no progress. We all know that whatever situation we do not address remains the same.
True enough, only fools never have doubts, doubts are good when they can be controlled, they are good when they lead us to a clear and keen evaluation of facts. They are useful when they lead us to gather facts and to a serious study of the situation, this way, they help to bring caution and wisdom. Frank Pierre says that “by facing the facts, you control your destiny to a great extent,” and a problem well stated is half solved. So if you face facts, you will be able to detect areas where you are likely to have difficulties, and if obstacles are well analyzed, then they are almost solved.
But the majority of people let their doubts rule them, instead of allowing the doubts to be a pave way to wisdom. According to Shakespeare “modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise, the tent that searches to the bottom of the worst.” But the problem is that most people do not have modest doubts, they have very big, magnanimous, mountainous doubts. Nothing, I repeat nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections have to be overcome first. Let your doubt give you wisdom. Let your doubt be satisfied, let your doubt raise its head, and let maturity, experience, and knowledge satisfy it.
There are doubting Thomases all over the place. Lots of people exercise doubt on every step that they want to take; if there is a little problem involved in any case, immediately they are in a land of doubt. But perfection is a dangerous state of mind in an imperfect world because we always set goals of perfection before ourselves, we usually make up our minds that it cannot be accomplished.
There are people who may have left the ‘obscurity street,’ if they had not exercised doubts for too long. People who would have been in ‘Success Town’, had they allowed their doubts to be the pause that refreshes on the way to success.’ Caleb Colton said: “Doubt is the vestibule through which all must pass before they can enter the temple of wisdom.” But I say, don’t let the two-minute period stretch into hours, just let it be the pause that you need to refresh.
I know of somebody who is very creative, intelligent, hardworking, always full of good ideas. This guy is someone whom you can call the rock of ideas, he is never dry of ideas, in fact, people who are in need of what to do, usually go to him for ideas. He will tell them enough to last them a lifetime. But the problem with this guy is that he himself, the house of ideas, has not started a thing.
One day I went to him because I was troubled about his attitude. When I got there, I said “Tony, when do you think, it will be the right time for you to start something for yourself, or get a job or use one of your fantastic ideas to generate money? I think it’s good time you settled down, you know.” He laughed and said, “I thank you for your concern, you should know that I am not lazy, neither am I without ideas, I am still waiting for the right idea.” “Waiting for what? You mean you don’t know what to do? Even people you have given one idea or the other are thriving, so what the hell is the problem with you? Is it finance?” “No, of course not, but the wait is because I want to generate an idea that will be an excellent one, one that I can invest money into and I will not be afraid of losing the money I want an idea that will be risk-free, one that I will have no doubt over, one I will be totally convinced about,” he replied.
There are many people like him who will not venture into anything except they see that it is risk-free. But as success-oriented people, we know that any idea, no matter how good it sounds, no matter how easy it looks, will have some problems attached to it. If all obstacles have to be overcome first, nothing will be done at all. One needs to exercise doubt, but to a very limited extent, to the stage of analyzing the facts, so as to lead one to better understanding and wisdom. Because when one is in doubt and exerts oneself to find the truth, he will gain something that will stay by him and will serve as gain. It will be a personal experience, not a borrowed knowledge.
Doubts are destructive, they destroy action, they bring suspense which yields to torment. Eliminate doubts by speaking up your convictions, do not spread your doubts, most people have enough of their own. Bring your doubts under control, do not yield to them. Self-confidence also helps to dominate doubts. Somebody once said, “Don’t figure out how you can’t, figure out how you can.” Dominate doubts, dictate, and control your doubts.
P.T. Manager said, “Knowledge and personality make doubt possible, but knowledge is also the cure of doubt and when we get a full and adequate sense of personality, we are lifted into a region where doubt is almost impossible, for no man can know himself as he is, in all the fullness of his nature without also knowing God. ” P.T. Manger has said it all. Only fools never have doubts, even then, knowledge is also the cure and he says with God no doubt is possible.
Faith is the most effective cure for doubt, just like worry. Hold your doubts out into the sunlight of God’s love and truth and trample them into dust. Make a list of all your good points: good education, good background, your multi-million ideas, good health, your unshakable faith in God, then you will realize that your doubts are insignificant. Forget doubts and set about the task at hand, do your best, because while you are doing your best, you will not have time to worry about failure. Fill your mind with good points: why you can make it; because “your mind is the only thing in the world that you hold total control over.” Do not let others’ criticisms, doubts, opinions, etc. affect you.
Determine what you are going to do, and do not procrastinate because you have doubts. With faith in your heart, every negative thought will flee: I so much love the following quotes from Robert H. Schuller’s book “Success Is Never ending, Failure Is Never Final”.
Fear not that you might fail…
Fear rather that you might never succeed if you never dare to try.
Fear not that you might make a mistake-believing in your dream…
Fear rather that if you don’t go for it, you might stand before God and He’ll tell you that you could have succeeded if you’d had more faith.
Fear not that you might fail.
Fear rather that you will never succeed if you don’t start taking risks.
Fear not that if it doesn’t work out, you’ll be embarrassed.
Fear rather that if you don’t try, that time will only prove you could have succeeded.
Fear not that you might be hurt…
Fear rather that you might never grow if you keep waiting for painless success.
Fear not that others might laugh at your mistakes.
Fear rather that God will say to you “O you of little faith.”
First published in October 1997.
No Comments on DON’T DOUBT – Oluwakemi Osubu