No Time to Doubt: Living Inside the Mission

I remembered something from my past yesterday. Not a vivid memory, more of a feeling. Its this sense of being fully locked in. Fully immersed. Engaged at a level so deep that all self-consciousness vanishes. I don't remember a specific time or event. Just moments in the past where I experienced the full effects of true participation. A time when I was living inside the mission.

There’s a word that circles this feeling: emerging.

Where we are going is too important to waste any time doubting ourselves

When in that zone, those missions mattered more than my insecurities. More than the need to sound smart. More than being right. There was no time for dis-empowering language. No energy to waste on doubt. Where we were going, what we were working toward, was too important.

These moments weren't led by ego. Self-acclaim was not the goal. Instead, purpose was the current moving us forward. I was in service of something bigger than myself and that created a kind of barrier in thought. A shield. A dome that repelled my self critiquing. Ideas flowed. Problem-solving surged. And even if I was wrong, I wasn’t afraid to try again because what we were doing mattered.

I’ve felt the opposite in my life, noticing when self doubt enters. I also often observe it in coaching sessions with clients. Sometimes they hesitate, searching for the right answer or the one they think I want to hear. In those moments I feel their wall crack, their own confidence slipping. I recognize it because I've felt it too. But sometimes they stiffen their resolve and search for fuller participation. Sometimes, I find myself caring so deeply about the client’s vision that I won't let them off the hook. Sometimes, I won't let myself off the hook.

There lives the state of being I’m after: inverting to full participation. And not just sometimes. I am after locking in when it matters the most and those moments happen more often than we think.

Moments of significance are not just showing up when the mission is righteous, when the stakes are high or when the potential impact is huge. It shows up daily in our lives. In the people we lead. When following those who are leading us toward incredible results. It shows up in how we love others. In the people we could make a difference for. In the choices we make and in the actions we take. These moments are everywhere, defining the life we live and the results we are creating. I wonder, what impact we would make if we chose full participation more often?

The mission, your vision, our goals are too important to waste time by doubting ourselves.

When we show up like it matters—we become the kind of person who makes it matter.