"You’re Not Alone in Your Doubts" – Timeless Wisdom
This week’s wisdom comes from the Dalai Lama:
“𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴… 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴... 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.”
And he adds:
“…𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦.”
This matters—because everyone, even someone like the Dalai Lama, acknowledges that we all face negative, disempowering, doubtful thoughts from time to time. Thoughts like:
“I’m not good enough.”
“Who am I to do this?”
“What if I fail?”
"Did I do okay?"
A powerful example of this came from Oprah Winfrey. After decades of interviewing presidents, celebrities, authors, and world figures, she revealed that nearly every single guest, no matter how famous or successful, asked her the same thing after their interview:
“Was that okay?”
They wanted to know: Did I do well enough? Was I seen? Was I accepted?
That’s not weakness. That’s humanity.
Steven Bartlett said something strikingly similar after interviewing Michelle Obama:
“Even the most successful people I’ve met feel self-doubt. But they do it anyway. That’s the difference.”
-> We all have thoughts that challenge us.
-> We all wonder sometimes if we belong.
-> And yet we all have the power to observe, shift, and train our minds.
That’s what the Dalai Lama is pointing to—not the elimination of negativity, but the cultivation of awareness and intentional redirection. Not perfection, but practice.
So if you’ve had a moment this week where your thoughts weren’t helping you…
If you’ve felt fear, insecurity or doubt like: “Did I do okay?”
You're in good company.
You're not broken. 💗
And you’re not alone.
You have the power to shift. You have the ability to train your mind toward strength, kindness and confidence.
What’s a thought you’re working on shifting lately? Or a moment where you recognized you weren’t the only one thinking it? I’d love to hear.
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