Doubt can be debilitating, and it can destroy all motivation and inspiration, if it is left unchecked. Having said that, a small amount of doubt can be healthy and useful. Doubting something, and then finding out more about it, or improving skills, or finding a better way – these are ways in which doubt can be very helpful.
However, when doubt causes a person to become stuck or paralyzed, it can be devastating. Doubt in yourself, doubt in humanity, doubt in your relationships – these are doubts that can be extremely detrimental. If you were to remove your current doubts, what would you do? Who would you be? What would you achieve?
What is Doubt?
There are many different understandings of doubt and what causes it. Some people see it as a sign that there is something wrong that their conscious mind hasn’t picked up yet – something niggling, that they can’t quite put their finger on.
Others consider it an instinct; and some see it as a warning from something beyond the physical. And all of these are possibilities. The difference is, when doubt is unfounded. In other words, when doubt holds you back from your goals, dreams and desires; and when doubt interferes with your happiness.
That is when it is a problem.
What Causes Doubt?
When doubt has become a problem, and is holding you back from what you want, it is no longer a valid warning or a sign that something is wrong; it is the result of unconscious programming. When doubt is a valid sign that something is wrong, you will know it – you will find a way around the problem, or find a new solution.
When doubt causes you to become disempowered – that is how you will recognize it as a program rather than a valid warning.
How is Doubt Created?
Like everything else, the program of doubt is created by a series of life experiences that have been interpreted and given meaning by the subconscious. For more information on how and why this happens, read: The REAL Cause of All Your Problems.
This means that if you are experiencing problems because of unfounded doubts, you are currently holding a set of records in your subconscious that provide “evidence” of this problem. And as long as you hold those records, your subconscious will be constantly prompting your body and brain to respond accordingly.
The feeling of doubt you feel is the result of certain chemicals that are released by the major organs of your body. It is a system that is designed to keep you safe. It’s just that the “threat” it’s responding to is not real. For example: Peter experienced ridicule when he started a new school at the age of 8. He knew no-one at the school, and felt very isolated. When he tried to make friends by approaching a group of kids and inviting them to play with his new Lego set, they made fun of him.
Sometime later, the teacher asked for a volunteer to explain the difference between the spelling of the words “there”, “their” and “they’re”. Peter, eager to please, and certain he knew the difference, enthusiastically raised his hand, and was practically bursting out of his seat to demonstrate his knowledge.
The teacher called him up to the front, to explain the difference. As Peter turned to face the class, he saw two of the boys who had made fun of him in the playground before, and his mind went blank. Because the prefrontal cortex of the brain (where we do our cognitive thinking) shuts down during the fight-freeze-or-flight emergency state, Peter was unable to think clearly. His body went into the stress state; all he was aware of was the smirking faces of those two boys, and he was unable to think of anything else.
Humiliated, Peter returned to his seat. He was certain that the teacher and the other kids didn’t believe he knew the difference between the words, and this made the situation worse.
He could feel the frustration, hopelessness and tears welling up. He had the knowledge, and he should have been able to explain it; but the teacher and other kids now believed he’d lied or was stupid. The feeling was almost unbearable.
What Happened in Peter’s Subconscious?
In that moment, since Peter’s body was in an emergency state, this caused his subconscious to immediately calculate the danger, and to set in place a mechanism to prevent the threat to his life in future. Remember, the subconscious is incapable of understanding logic and reason; it is also not able to independently distinguish between different threats.
If the body has reacted with fight-freeze-or-flight, the threat is a matter of life-or-death as far as the entire body, brain and subconscious is concerned. The only bit that can distinguish between a life-or-death threat and a bruised ego or humiliation is the conscious mind. And the conscious mind has very little power over the health-and-safety department of the subconscious.
Peter’s subconscious automatically interpreted the experience to mean that no matter how confident he may feel about himself, there is no guarantee, and it is dangerous to put himself in a position where he needs to prove himself. The result is that, as Peter grew older, he constantly found himself backing out of situations and challenges.
Each experience of this kind reinforced the “proof” held in his subconscious that the doubt he felt was valid and well-founded. As an adult, Peter continued to live this “truth”. He would get excited about a new project, and start to work on it; and then the doubts would start to creep in. His body would go into fight-freeze-or-flight, and his conscious mind would interpret the feelings as doubt – signs there was good reason he should not go through with it.
How to Free Yourself from the Pattern of Doubt
While your story may be different to Peter’s there will be a similar starting point for your pattern of doubt. The great news is that you don’t need to remember it consciously, and you don’t even need to know what it was. All you need to do is notice how you know it’s a problem now.
Take a deep breath, and remember the last time you felt doubt. Notice how it feels, where in your body you feel it, and how strong it is. Then, use the FasterEFT technique to tap out that feeling until it has completely gone.
While you’re going through the process, you may notice different thoughts, feelings and memories come to you. Make a note of them as you go through the process. Then, pick the earliest memory, and use the FasterEFT technique to flip that. Make sure you completely flip it before you move on.
Then, go back and check if the doubt is still there. Go to each memory of where you’ve felt doubt and check if it’s still there. If it is, tap until you flip it. You’ll find that as you flip some memories, others may change as well. Once you’ve done that, go to your current feelings of doubt again, and check if they’re still there.
If they are, notice what’s different – do they feel different in some way? Are they less intense? Whatever it is, just notice what’s still left there, and use the FasterEFT technique to flip those too. Don’t stop until you cannot find any trace of doubt.
From now on, whenever you feel the slightest sense of doubt that you recognize as the pattern you had before, use the FasterEFT technique to clear it in the moment. Use Mental Tapping if you can’t tap physically at the time.
For more information on FasterEFT and how it works, read: The REAL Cause of All Your Problems.
For detailed guidance on using the technique, read: The FasterEFT Technique – Step-by-Step.
To see FasterEFT in action, watch the videos in the FasterEFT in Action Playlist.
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