Why do we doubt ourselves?

Some say doubt is the mother of all inaction. In Hamlet by Shakespeare, his constant doubts cost him his own life in the end and earned him the title of antihero.

Is doubt only a bad thing? When should we doubt?

Well, doubting is not altogether a bad idea. It may be the trigger that helps us to investigate and clear inconsistencies.

But doubting ourselves is never to be applauded. The minute we start doubting ourselves, we lay ourselves open to energy vampires who will seek to undermine the remaining strength in ourselves and manipulate us.

In the Mahabharatha, the brightest of the warriors and Drona Acharya's pet student, Arjuna, the star of the Pandavas who had never hesitated over fighting, lay down his weapons and refused to fight.

We all know that he refused to fight because the enemies were none other than his beloved uncles, grandfathers and relatives who were his own family members. The Gauravas were his cousins and the chief instruments of the Pandavas humiliation and exile for 13 years of which the final year had been spent in undercover existence. For the Pandavas, they were no longer the self-possessed nobles who had lived in palatial splendour. The long, lean years of the exile had hardened their indulgent longings leaving only the quest for dharma in them. Arjuna questioned Sri Krishna over the act of war and doubted the very act of war itself.

The entire of the Pandava and Gaurava army waited until he was ready to fight again.

Why did Arjuna doubt himself? He thought the act of war was an act of Adharma. Luckily for him, he was in the presence of Sri Krishna who revealed his true form as Maha Vishnu and taught him the path of righteous action which has been compiled into what we know as the Bhagavad Gita today. Finally, Arjuna's doubts were cleared and he didn't doubt himself, knowing that the path to be taken had to be the only way to establish dharma over adharma. One can only imagine it must have been a difficult choice for Arjuna.

Doubt is always the harbinger of inaction. In our weekly Bhagavad Gita classes, we dwell on the 18 great verses which describe the importance of action. Doubting oneself means that we immediately stifle our path of action and start remaining in a rut. It is the worst possible thing to do to oneself.

Doubt is the beginning of all negative thoughts. In taking no action, we immediately start the downward decline of negative actions. Not trusting yourself is truly the worst action to take.

We doubt ourselves because of severe setbacks.

One of the main causes of self-doubt is because of negative feedback. Consistent negative feedback is the one guaranteed way of ensuring that you fail.

Have you ever stopped to consider if the person giving you the feedback has anything to gain from this? And if the person is actually doing more harm than good by doing this?

The minute self-doubt creeps in, get away from that environment. Try to go to another spot at least.Or join a Bhagavad Gita class :)

We have Bhagavad Gita classes for adults too. These can be an instant pick-me-up where your mood expands and you feel elevated. You owe it to yourself to do this.

Bhagavad Gita for children is already a success with students looking forward to each Sunday with pleasure. Our moods are lifted and we feel good immediately. Do yourself a favour and stop doubting. You are a special, beautiful being. Live your life!