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The Fear of Foolishness

Building at the Well-Conditioned Mind

Let's go back to first principles.

3 Steps to Moving Through Skepticism

Most of us know amazing stories of what is possible when somebody believes in something. We know that words like faith and confidence and trust motivate great achievements. We know that we never read of a hero inspired by skepticism or a great inventor driven by a lack of faith.  So what are we to do when we want to achieve in a situation where we are more skeptical than inspired? There are three steps (simple, but not always easy) to moving through skepticism so that you can be focused, energized and motivated.

The first step is to pay attention to your skepticism.  It might seem odd to begin by respecting an attitude that is holding you back, but all change begins with respecting all of you.  If you are feeling skeptical, there is a good reason for that feeling.  Often, you are alerting yourself that there are safety issues in your situation. You need to pay attention to your vulnerability if you are to move through your skepticism.  Sometimes you have noticed broader implications in the situation than are readily apparent.  You feel skeptical because there is something in the bigger picture that requires your attention.  What else could it be? Ask yourself. When you find out the reason for the skepticism, you will be able to address it and move ahead.

Step two is to feed your sense of possibility. Belief is a big step: this is more like creating a space in which you  do believe or maybe, to begin, a space where your belief doesn't seem to be the point. Julia Cameron suggests that would-be writers make artist's dates with themselves. Going to a performance or a gallery or hiking in the woods: all these things wake up your senses and allow you to be wide awake and in touch with what is all around you.  

The more present you are to what is, the more your mind is likely to extend its sense of possibility to things just out of reach. You don't need to believe in the things that you can explore through your senses: we say, after all, that seeing is believing.  So find a space that wakes up your senses and pay attention to them.

Finally, step three in moving through skepticism is to focus on what you want and move resolutely towards it. I know - it's not easy.  Sometimes you can barely glimpse a corner of what you want, way out there beyond the heavy bulk of skepticism that occupies most of your view.  Sometimes moving toward that glimpse is like walking through molasses, slow and sticky and rooted in good, old-fashioned tradition.  I did warn you that moving through skepticism was simple but not easy. This is the not-easy part. Keep picking your feet up and moving forward, even when the weight of skepticism pulls at your muscles and tightens your breath. When you can't see your goal, close your eyes and imagine it. When you can't see the point of taking one more step, take it anyway.

There could be more steps here.  Gathering resources is fun, and a great way of lightening skepticism. Somehow, it is rarely enough without the steps outlined here.  Gathering friends and leaning on their beliefs helps when the walking gets tough: but leaning on friends won't take you far enough to come out on the other side of your skepticism. Your skepticism is yours: you generate the energy that keeps it, like a force field, between you and what you want.  Friends and resources help: but without the three steps above, they are not enough.

You can be enough. You can do what you need to do to move through skepticism and find what you need to act like the people who do great things through single-minded energy or strength or brilliance.  After all, skepticism takes lots of energy. Once you are through with it, you'll have lots of energy to turn towards your goals.