justbarelymadeit

In order to do battle one must understand one’s enemy first. For us to banish or process doubt we must understand what it is. Defining this in a way we can understand will go a long way towards creating a mind that correctly and deftly handles doubt.

Webster’s dictionary defines doubt as uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making. To really grasp this though, we need to look at it on a more fundamental level. Doubt, as we are discussing it, is not really a verb or an action. It is more something that happens to you than something you choose to do. While it usually leads to actions and proactive movement, it is something more primal and base. A mix of instinct and external influences, it is hardly a cognitive construct. One rarely sits down and proceeds to actively doubt something. Instead we begin to see the reason why it is often described as something that invades or sneaks in like a thief. Used in literature, it is often described as almost a spate entity from the character that is experiencing it.

Another important aspect of doubt is that it is a negative entity. Similar to darkness in this respect, it shows itself to be something that is a lack of another thing, rather than a substance in itself. Darkness isn’t so much a thing in and of itself, as it is a lack of light. Doubt isn’t a think so much as it is a lack of a thing, certainty. Certainty is sometimes a tough commodity to obtain and as such in its absence, doubt flourishes.

As we begin to tackle this subject and seek to understand that which we hope to do battle with, we start to organize our war effort. We begin here, to get our ducks in a row, which we must do if we are to have any hope of victory in this fight. Our great enemy doubt can be brought down. It can be vanquished, and that eventual victory is going to find its origination in the seeking of knowledge, of understanding.