Desire over Doubt.

I remember this moment in Costa Rica just before the pandemic hit in March of 2020. We were on a family vacation on the East Coast near Tortuguero, Costa Rica. We went for a walk on the black beach just as a storm was rolling in over the Caribbean Sea. Leif wanted to stand on this rock and experience the surf all around him, to feel the rush and the power of the ocean and the impending storm – to marvel at the power of weather and water and the enormity of feeling small. He kept trying and fearing and stepping down and getting nervous to try again. Once or twice he fell in the water and almost gave up. It seemed so easy for his older brother and he was beginning to question whether he could actually be brave enough to step up and stay up to let the waves wash in all around him, thunder broiling in the distance. He was weighing the dueling powers of Desire over Doubt. Which would prevail? Would the desire for the experience outwin the doubt of ability?

He had to give himself permission to keep trying despite the fear, despite his brother’s seeming ease, despite the evidence of falling off over and over again. What a great metaphor for what we do to ourselves in business and in our dreams. We compare ourselves to others and tell ourselves stories that threaten our dreams and our resilience to see them through. At what point do we allow our desire to outweigh the doubt? Because I will tell you what happened when Leif finally allowed himself to stand tall… the thrill – the excitement – the victory was even sweeter than if this had been easy. And isn’t that always true?   

Where in your life are you denying yourself a desire because of the doubt you feel? And how can you turn that around to value the desire over the doubt?