May 2026 – Purpose in Progress

Daily writing prompt

How do you handle fear and self-doubt?

Handling fear and self-doubt, for me, come down to understanding what these really are in moments I feel them.

Fear should be a useful and intelligent emotion that results in safety and remaining alive and well. It may not be a pleasant feeling in the moment, but it is valuable and a signal not to be ignored. Over time, wisdom and experience helps refine fear into a sharp tool of benefit we thoughtfully listen to.

Self-doubt is a finicky emotion, often masquerading as other deeper emotions or histories needing further contemplation. When I doubt myself, I try to examine it and peel back a layer to see what is underneath the lack of confidence in myself. Is it having to untangle a long history of being made to believe I was wrong when I really right? Is it a deeper experience that long ago made me lose faith in myself? Or could it be an easy avoidance to doing the next right thing?

Mainly, handling emotions like these come down to understanding the feelings and seeing them for what they are / are not, instead of drowning in an ocean of anxiety and overwhelm.

For the last 2-3 weeks, I’ve been the lucky winner of catching whatever this crud is that’s floating around. Fever, sore throat, chest congestion and a deep airway cough that could wake the dead, it has been awful.

One bright light through all of it has been the best little helper a sick person could wish for: Fury. This little girl has stuck with her human through it all. Even when I had to relocate downstairs in our basement guest room so that my husband could sleep while I coughed up a lung each night, my furry caretaker stayed glued to me, sleeping between my ankles.

I am so grateful to be doing better and back to work. The sooner my airways feel back to normal, the better. But it’s good to know my sweet girl is a constant companion, no matter how bad I get (or sound). We truly do not deserve our fur family members – what a sweet and loyal soul Fury is.