Have you watched the movie 300?
I ask because I love that intro on Leonidas’s life. It wasn’t the sparring or the asceticism that got me. It’s the part where he was thrown into the freezing tundras to fend for himself. Against the cold and sabretooth tigers.
I know it’s fiction, but that scene was boss.
Of course, I don’t condone doing the same, especially since sabretooth tigers have since gone extinct. But the concept itself highlights a point I firmly believe in: that you have to be the person to walk through the fires of your life.
Nobody else can do that for you. Especially when it concerns conquering your self-doubt. And why would they, anyway? They have their own doubts to care about.
Here’s the catch, though. Overcoming self-doubt involves facing the doubt itself, which means facing real challenges. Like running 100 kilometres. Or holding your breath for five minutes. Or trying to keep a straight face when someone has food in their teeth.
The death of doubt doesn’t happen in the land of the possible. Heck, it doesn’t even happen in the land of the plausible. It’s only discoverable in the unknown. And the problem with that is people will often think you’re crazy for trying.
Just look at David Goggins. Or Courtney Dauwalter. Houdini or Marie Curie.
This is why people try to conquer Everest or swim across the English Channel. Not because they have a death wish, but because they don’t know if they can do it.
Ironically, it’s there where you build your self-belief.
Learning to be my own fireman
I’ve recently taken on a job role that requires a tad more leadership than I’m used to. But because it’s related to writing, I totally believe in my ability to handle the post.
That’s because I’ve spent years writing, editing, and experimenting with the written word, not just for work, but also on my own accord.
This includes having to write 2,000 words while on the road for 16 hours per day, as well as justifying my work to particularly harsh editors.
Contrast that to my days as a salon supervisor, where I didn’t care enough about hairdressing to progress beyond the niches I enjoyed (cutting and colouring).
My skills weren’t up to par with my colleagues, I didn’t earn as much commission as they did, and I couldn’t retain as many customers. The worst part was, I constantly evaded any challenge that came my way.
Like I’d talk customers out of perming their hair because I wasn’t confident in my skills. And said skills would continue to deteriorate because I didn’t dare walk through the fire.
That’s why I’m grateful for having discovered writing. Not just for the experiences and income it’s gotten me, but also for the lessons it’s taught me about myself.
Fight your own fires
It’s up to you to face your own challenges. When it comes to overcoming self-doubt, you can’t outsource the work.
I’m not going to tell you how to do it, though. That path is yours to discover. But I can share how I did it. And that’s by striving to be the person I respect.
I know I’m doing it right when others start asking me how I do it—in the form of emails seeking writing guidance, for instance. Or a friend asking me to be his physical trainer.
If there’s anything you take away from this post, let it be that the negative feelings of life can double up as a gyroscope.
Because self-doubt isn’t fun. Neither is fear, boredom, or guilt. But they do highlight the gaps in your life. The areas in which you can improve. Just like pain, they’re a necessary evil.
And if my self-doubt is anything to go by, I’m going to be a pretty damned kick-ass writer in the future. All I need to do is to keep walking through the fire.
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Stuart Danker 
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