Doubt is always an option, I'm trying to say no to it.

Are options the root of self-doubt?

There are many things in life that seem to offer us an option before we even think about it ourselves. Have you ever noticed how many different options we have in our daily decisions? How many options of everything there are? Deodorant, cheese, toothpaste, DORITOS!?! I mean I am not complaining at all, spicy-sweet chili Doritos were created by God himself. But I also understand how any sort of ease/default from having fewer options could be relatively helpful towards making a decision. I think I am a person that seeks out ease within decisions but I can’t help but wonder if the intensity of increasing options leaves more room for self-doubt once a decision has been reached.

Over the past few weeks, there are many times I found myself thinking about my options a lot. Trying to combat the feeling that of my own self-doubt I find myself gravitating to a lot of podcasts or videos talking about risk-takers/entrepreneurs that have had very active careers and made a decision amidst their many options. I always gravitate to these types of topics looking for inspiration, sometimes it can be too much to think about but I usually find myself taking notes and reminding myself that these ideas don’t have to be so distant. Now, don’t get crazy, I very much become aware of some stories very much from a different background than mine, sometimes people come from families with lots o money, or might have had a push from the get-go that is not necessarily something I can relate to but regardless I am a huge believer that inspiration can come from the unexpected.

Recently I found a new podcast I’ve been loving called “So…What Do You Do Again”. It highlights the journey of women of color in the fashion industry. I listened to the episode of Telsha Anderson, creator of T.A, a concept store offering a diverse curation of designers, located in the meatpacking district of Manhattan. She talks of her journey getting there and the many different routes her life was going and still is going amidst starting her own business. She gave tons of great tidbits of wisdom but a few things she talked of specifically stuck out to me. In reference to getting the courage to start something of your own saying, “Start it, get feedback, don’t let people deter you”. Then she talked of how many people told her that there are already a million businesses like hers and she responded with “Now there’s going to be 1 million and 1”. Mic Drop.

Now, she has received a lot of recognition from Vogue, B&F, Nylon, to name a few. Her company is defying odds and gaining more and more traction. Her words resonated with me so much, I paused the episode, wrote many quotes down then started writing this here piece you’re reading. What a freaking mindset, not only was it the right time that I needed to hear this but it mattered a lot to me that it came from a woman that looked like me. No second-guessing, no overthinking, she just spoke about taking care of her mental well-being and how taking care of herself helped her to keep working towards what she wanted. I realize often doubt sneaks in when there seems to be a lack of representation within pre-existing options or if I have exposed myself to too many options, causing myself to try and fit into boxes that have yet to be created.

Knowing when to cut yourself off from overthinking your possible options and when you just need to start, scares the hell out of me, which is why I gravitate to it often. Something I keep telling myself is there is so much space for ideas and as things are being created it is somewhat providing even more space for other opportunities. If companies had decided not to start something because someone else did we wouldn’t have most of the things we love in this life, think grocery stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, DORITOS?!? With options come opportunities, with opportunities comes diversity, with diversity, comes change. I think I made that up but I freaking believe it. If it helps you to doubt less and do more, that’s all any of us can all hope for.

Question: What is something that you doubt? Why do you doubt it?

As always thank you for reading,

Happy holidays, lots of love, always

Rose <3