I want to be honest with you. I’ve written frequently on fitness and how leaders should be focused on being fit.
This is something I’ve been utterly horrible at the past year. My running has been infrequent at best. My bathroom exercises pretty much stopped. My motivation was gone.
Image by BK
The more I thought about my failure to run and exercise, the more down on myself I felt. Then, when I’d get back in the game and actually run, I’d begin to feel doubt creep in.
My mind would tell me things like:
You’ll never run as fast as you used to run.
You’ve taken too much time off. It’s better to give up now.
No one cares if you’re out of shape. By the way, isn’t round a shape?
There was a lot of negative self talk going on in there as you can see. My mind and body kept telling me that I couldn’t be where I once was.
Doubts plagued me and I began to believe these negative thoughts I was having.
That was until the day of the Hey! 5K annual run.
The Hey! 5K is held annually during a local Christian music festival, Unity Christian Music Festival. It’s a great time of music and fellowship. I love my time there.
Yet I’d never participated in the 5K. This year, I decided I’d had enough and I was going to run the race.
The Doubts Where There
Prior to the 5K race, I’d run a bit. I was hitting 5K distances but my times were bad. And, quite often, I’d have to stop part way through the run to take a walk so I could rest up.
Things weren’t looking too good. And those doubts were getting louder.
Even my last run prior to the 5K run required me to walk at the 15 minute mark.
You can see how doubts would rise up. My body didn’t seem up to the task. And I knew it.
However, I knew I couldn’t let that stop me from running the race.
Have you ever been there? You’ve felt the doubt. You’ve seen where you’re at (and it’s not pretty). You’ve known you weren’t up to the task.
That’s doubt. And it’s telling you that you’re not good enough.
That’s okay. We’ve all been there. And we all have doubts. But there’s a key to overcome your doubts.
How To Overcome Your Doubts
By now, you can probably tell that I did run the Hey! 5K run. Do you want to know the outcome?
I beat my doubts. I beat my recent best times. I beat my body and didn’t let it control me during the race.
I ran the 5K in 24:31. Not my best time but my best time in over a year.
That’s the Hey 5K finish line I crossed
That’s how you beat the doubts. You get out there and do what needs to be done. You push through the pain. You take action and put one foot in front of the other.
Your doubts might not be about running a 5K like my recent doubts were. Your fears may include:
Am I a good enough husband?
How do I lead my team?
What’s the next step to take in my career or business?
I don’t know the answers to those fears and doubts. But I do know the key to overcoming the doubts you have.
You’ve got to take action. You’ve got to do something rather than nothing. You’ve got to tell your doubts “No! I don’t believe you.”
That’s the way you overcome your doubts.
Question: What doubts are you facing today? What’s one step you can take to overcome your doubts? Let’s share our doubts and raise each other up in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.