What can doubt teach us?

During a visit to Arizona last year, I was excited to hike a trail near my sister’s home. 

When I’d visited a few years prior, we hiked half of the trail, but turned around because my kids were with us and complaining about the hike...at least that’s how I remembered it. 

My sister reminded me that I was also complaining of my knees hurting. 

I was eager to see how the hike felt this time since I’d been exercising more consistently since then -- and was feeling so. much. stronger. 

I may have even approached the hike with a little arrogance...expecting it to feel easier this time.

As we started our climb in the dry, Arizona morning heat, the hike felt different than the workouts I’d been doing. 

We were moving at a good pace, and I got winded quickly. 

I started to scan ahead for shaded spots for a water break.

None of this was out of the ordinary, but the experience of it triggered my monkey brain to start doubting whether this hike was a good idea. 

This is harder than I thought...I don’t know if I can do this...what was I thinking...can we turn around now...there’s no way I’m making it to the end.

I began noting the numbered trail markers. There were 90 of them to let emergency crews know where to locate hikers that might need help.

We were around the 20s, and more doubts were bubbling up. I started feeling disappointed that I wasn’t going to reach the end of the trail this time.

And then...the incline of the hike leveled off. 

I caught my breath. 

Our pace felt more doable. 

And I felt a little sliver of confidence emerge that I could keep going. 

And, yes, we did keep going and we finished the 4-mile hike in about two hours. 

Thinking back...the first 20 minutes of the hike felt the hardest. And it reminded me how the beginning of any goal can feel shaky.

Doubts are natural when we push ourselves out of our comfort zone.

I hear my fair share of self-doubt with the clients I coach to stop dieting and lose weight permanently.

We begin our work together and all the doubts about diets past begin to emerge…

What if this doesn’t work?

What if my body won’t respond? 

I’m just not sure about this…

It takes a few weeks to build up evidence that our bodies will respond to being cared for differently — that we can stop counting calories and restricting foods and we can start listening to our hunger cues.

It takes a few weeks to see that nourishing our bodies feels good — no matter the outcome.

And then as a side effect of caring for ourselves so well, we also start to release weight.

And this is why it also feels so different to approach weight loss using tools for our brains and not just rely on sticking to a prescribed plan someone hands you.

Don’t get me wrong...doubts will come up. 

But how we respond to our doubts is what keeps us working towards our goal or not. 

The beautiful thing is that the more we learn to navigate the patterns of those doubts, the less power they have.

And soon...those prickly doubts are replaced with self-trust. 

And that, my friend, can feel even better than weight loss.