I was recently chatting with a dear fried and asked her what she had been up to. Entertaining doubt, she said. Of course, I was curious and asked her to explain what she meant. Well, she said, I’ve found that it is sometimes in exploring doubt about something, I actually draw myself closer to faith and belief. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. By looking at the opposite of something, we can often get more compelled or committed to what we are REALLY craving and wanting.

Doubt can bring up all kinds of thoughts that can easily spiral:

• I’m not good enough.
• What if I don’t succeed?
• I might make a fool of myself.
• Someone out there is better than I am.
• It’s not ready (this is the it’ll never be ready, perfectionism one)

Do any of those ring a bell? Jot down the ones that frequently come up for you. Doubt, in and of itself, is not a “bad” thing. It’s what we do with the doubt that makes all the difference. Avoiding doubt actually makes it worse. Using the power of a different “lens” to explore perspective and choice makes all the difference.

Using the lens of faith and belief, something else happens—a new perspective. With new perspective comes the power of choice. Here’s what I came up with:

• Faith says that I am good enough and will have everything I need to get through this experience. It will be OK.

• Faith says I will succeed, learn, and grow and that no matter what the experience is, I can trust that it will be the right experience in my journey now.

• Faith says that being vulnerable and having courage has me showing up in the arena. I am in the game of life.

• Faith says that we all have unique gifts and talents. There is no other me out there. I can embrace this and make sure I am contributing my skills and gifts to the world. I can notice what others are doing and celebrate them, too. The more confidence I have in myself, the more I can see my own brilliance AND the brilliance of others.

• Faith says I may never “feel” ready and I need to move forward. The phrase “good enough” may be useful. Faith tells me it will never be perfect. There is no such thing but I trust that moving forward keeps me in the journey.

Remember that list you made above of the doubt thoughts that you experience? I invite you to put a faith statement in place of the doubt statement. What does faith say? If the word belief works better for you, go for it. Here is a belief example:

I believe I am creative, resourceful and whole. I believe that I have gifts, skills and talents. I believe that I can shine in my brilliance.

I invite you to notice what happens when you bring faith and belief to the conversation. When we find ways to use the doubt to actually bring us to faith and belief, we can completely shift our energy, perspective and actions.

Keep SHINING in Your Brilliance!