You Don’t Think You Have The Ability Even Though You Do

Every time I get a new opportunity, my instant reaction is “What if I stuff it up? Am I really ready for that?

I’m sure you’ve experienced this too.

New experiences that require us to do something we’ve never done before always scare the crap out of us.

In these moments, we question our ability.

The stupid thing is you probably do have the ability.

The opportunity would never have come your way if you didn’t have the ability and that’s what is so easily lost in these moments.

Why you doubt yourself

You think you don’t have the ability because you’re doubting yourself which is completely natural. Of course, if you have never been a leader before, or started a business, you are going to doubt what’s possible.

Everybody has doubts because it’s how we deal with the unknown which comes alongside any opportunity.

Doubt is a coping mechanism.

You take advantage of your existing ability when you face the unknown and decide to go against your doubts.

An example:

I went back into leadership recently after many years. When the opportunity was put in front of me, my mind came up with all the things that could go wrong.

What if the team hates me? What if my lack of product knowledge holds me back? What if my new boss hates me? What if I can’t get the result?

I doubted my ability because my thoughts were consumed by ‘what if’ statements which don’t have a definite answer. The truth was I’d done leadership before so it was more than likely I had the ability. If I hadn’t done leadership before, it was more than likely I’d develop the ability if I took the opportunity.

Doubting yourself allows you an escape clause and makes it easy to procrastinate, overthink or remain in indecision for a lifetime.

Your hidden ability

You have the ability or at the very least can develop the ability to do whatever you want in life. You can’t unlock your hidden ability until you accept the fact that you’ll never know unless you try.

The more you try and uncover your hidden ability, the more ability you’ll develop in the process.

It happens to the best

And don’t forget for one single second that everybody doubts their ability — even Elon Musk and Richard Branson. Accept the fact that doubting your ability is normal and you won’t be shackled down to the ground by it.

When you doubt your ability there is an advantage that comes with it: you grow in the process.

Even if you are right and you don’t have the ability, at the very least, you’ll grow in the process so you can’t possibly fail, only learn.

Prove yourself wrong

You’ll never know until you prove your doubts wrong and discover what your actual ability is amongst all your negative thoughts.

The one way I’ve seen my own ability is to prove myself wrong. I proved myself to be a compulsive liar when it came to my ability. Knowing your wrong will allow you not only to see your current ability but develop more skills and strengths because of it.

Sometimes lying to yourself and being ignorant of your ability is the best thing you can do. It’s what I did when I started blogging. I kept doing it even though I knew I had almost no ability. I lied to myself every week saying things like“You’re the best Tim!” and “You’ll be a well-known writer one day.”

These were lies, and they’ve come half true already which seems impossible. It’s what can happen though when you let your natural ability to learn, fill the empty space left behind due to a lack of ability.

You have the ability already

That ability comes from believing in yourself.

Opportunities don’t come your way unless another person believes that you have enough ability to do it. The truth is other people can see our abilities; it’s just we often can’t.

No need to be sad soldier. Say yes to that opportunity and utilize your existing ability with a smile on your face. You got this.

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