Doubting. It's in our nature. Do you ever stop to think about the impact fear and doubt have on your own life and the lives of others? Fear and doubt are powerful forces: crippling, overwhelming, blinding, and rarely leading to a positive outcome.
Ego teaches us the lie that self is the ultimate authority, both the means and the ends to meet our goal. Humanity teaches us that we're born into a community for a reason - we are not meant to do "it" alone. The inner spirit teaches us that relationships matter - that "how" you go about something matters as much as (sometimes more than) "what" the end result is.
I get it - it's hard to trust people. It's hard to admit that someone else's way might be as equally valid as the way that you feel personally comfortable with. If you might, for once, step back and consider that the person you are dealing with is a human being, that they are intelligent and credible, and that maybe you could give them a chance.
Do you realize that what you do and say without considering how it impacts the other person(s) outside yourself could break someone's spirit? If you defeat someone and crush their confidence every. single. time. they came to you for feedback or worked on something with you, if you never tell them they do a good job, if you never come down to their level to learn together, if you always insist you are right, how can you expect that person then to reciprocate and value YOUR opinion, trust YOU? You will get in return FEAR and RESENTMENT, not RESPECT, and you will certainly not gain a friend. People will feel like they have to tiptoe around you. Everything you work on with others will be a fight and a struggle - and in reality there are no winners in a battleground.
None of us are completely independent of other humans. It can be intimidating to put yourself in a position where you are vulnerable, where you admit that you actually NEED the other people in your life, you embrace that the wellbeing, confidence, growth, and happiness of other people MATTER, that they are valuable and precious. It is worth it. The people around you will enjoy working with and being with you; they will speak well of you in and out of your presence. They will surprise you by how they live up to their potential and make you proud. Want a full, meaningful life? Give others around you a chance. Listen to them. Encourage them. Give someone else the benefit of the doubt. Let someone else be the hero - you'll both win.
