We all have that small whisper that never goes away.
No matter how confident you are, how powerful you feel, it instantly can knock you off the center.
It comes and goes but you know that you'll never be free from it. There might be a temporary truce, but the battle goes on.
The small whisper.
It's one simple question that does all the killing.
What if I don't amount to anything?
Whatever you are pursuing, you are never sure whether you've made the right choice. So, you can't help but constantly measure...
For some of you, whether it's your contribution, fame, reputation, money, or your happiness that proves that you are indeed something, you are doing everything in your power so that you have that proof.
Sometimes you are very confident but other times you crumble helplessly with all the self-doubts.
So, how do you know?
How do you know if you've made the right choice so you do amount to something?
You know from your experience, merely squeezing your brain to come with the answer doesn't gets you too far.
You also figured out that it doesn't really help if you tell yourself a lie that "it's gonna be alright no matter what".
You choose not to be delusional, you rather want to come at peace with the truth.
Fortunately, you don't have to run away from the truth, but combine it with logic and let it be your guardian to combat the small whisper.
Over the years, I've reached seven conclusions and they have served me well in fighting back the small whisper. It has been my guidance for what to focus on instead of drowning in self-doubt.
I like to believe I gave the small whisper a bloody nose numerous times. Let them be your arsenal as well.
The Seven Logical Truths
1. I know that our brain by default is designed to fear uncertainty. The only way to overcome it is to embrace that life is uncertain. But this doesn't mean we cannot attack it. We might not be able to own the outcome but we can always own the process. Only way to win is to enjoy the process.
2. I know that even though there's a chance for favorable outcome, I still won't have control over how fast it's going to arrive. The only thing I can do with the speed is to start early, to be consistent, and to adjust from mistakes. So, if I've made the decision, further thinking and calibrating do you no good. Just do the work.
3. I know that I'll never figure out what path is easier or quicker to amount to something, the only way to find out is to complete it. Dabbling to fathom is pointless and all it does is waste more time.4. I know that there's always a room for improvement. I only need to keep on improving. I can definitely do that by "learning fundamental from good teachers => experiment => evaluate => adjust".
5. I don't necessarily have to be the best in every task to get the desirable outcome. I need to know just enough and put certain level of work to get the pieces moving.
6. I know that whatever happens, I'd dealt with it in the past so I'll deal with it in the future.
7. I know that the result has nothing to do with other people's opinion or mine. Again, do the work regardless of everyone's doubt including mine.
Next time when "What if I don't amount to anything?" creeps in again, let the seven logical truths be your weapon to guide you where to focus.You probably have some of logical truths of your own, take them out and shove it in the whisper's ass.
Do the work.
