Imagine being in a room blindfolded and asked to hit a target with darts.

However, we don’t know where the target is.

We try different approaches; throwing them all in the same direction hoping for them to reach their destiny, or changing the direction with each throw, wishing it would increase our chances.

Despite our great effort and multiple strategies, we failed.

It had nothing to do with skill. There was no target set.

That is the very scenario we wish to avoid.

There exist goals and motives within us. Why we do something determines everything; how we do it, the quality of our experience. However, it doesn’t suffice to know them at some point. Such knowledge needs renewal and to be questioned.

Our reasons change; in quality, in quantity, in how we interact with them, thus the relevance of exploring ourselves and using doubt wisely as a tool.

Our what and why

Even if these go unnoticed, the object of our lust and the reasons behind it are present.

What we want amounts to a particular something, while the why corresponds to the worth we see in it, both physical, as wealth or objects, and abstract, like security.

More often than not, objects of desire are not straightforward; we would lust after a house, power, or a particular lifestyle because they symbolize something to us.

There would be times when the path is a joy, and we are delighted to transit through. However, there would be times when our what and why are the only things preventing us from falling.

Have we thought about such a delicate matter before?

Where do our goals come from?

Momentum

At some point in our life, something was set in motion.

From inside or outside, it does not matter, it came to settle; we made a routine, and objectives, molded ourselves to it, we had to.

We were given a what and why.

An identity emerged.

For good or bad, there is an inherent force that keeps us in our habits, even if slow changes are building on in the background. Such changes could become so significant, and the strength of the momentum is so great, that dissonance appears; a feeling of internal conflict, the ideal in contrast to what is, a war within ourselves, you against you.

As with any conflict, we can be caught off guard, but it is seldom created out of nowhere.

Some people can simply ignore it, for others, the noise is not so easily muffled. For the latter, something must be done. Thus the need to rediscover ourselves.

And that is where we begin to be.

An exploration of the self

The wrong assumption that we know ourselves can be present since sticking to what we know is easier than rediscovering ourselves every day.

The small and unnoticed growth is what may surprise us one day.

How fortunate the person who recognizes how fluid the self can be, who pays attention to each moment, doesn’t lock herself in a box, and devotes some time to let herself be.

Such consideration doesn’t have to be burdensome nor time-consuming, where we scrutinize the very fabric of ourselves.

We could dare to try that fruit we did not like, surprise ourselves with something we couldn’t conceive before, or discover new hobbies, passions, music, books, ideas, and whatnot.

But, we must be brave enough to doubt.

Doubt as a tool

Many of the most powerful tools can be as good as bad, the same can be said about doubt. To explore our what and why we need to question ourselves and what we know.

Perhaps we have the supposition that the first time we do something should feel smooth or natural, or else we “don’t have it”, or presume the rain to be bad because it prevents us from going outside.

Certain ideas are limiting or destructive.

To doubt is equivalent, in a sense, to recognize alternatives, and question the validity of the one we currently use. We must hone the criteria for choosing the right option.

There are better ways to act, traits to pursue, and things we ignore.There must exist the willingness to be wrong if we want to be better.

There are other ways in which doubt is ruinous, when we need as much strength as we can gather or an idea or belief is being tested.

We must doubt only when is appropriate.

Reflect on where you are going

Getting to a place may be difficult, especially when we don’t know where it is. We may be in the very place and not be able to recognize it.

How far can we go without knowing where we want to be?

Goals and the underlying motives, whether we lost sight of them, there was never one to begin with, or they are given rather than created, mold the way we interact with the world.

Wherever our momentum may have taken us may or may not be right. However, when we embark on the exploration of our being, it falls upon us to question our reasoning and take action accordingly.

So doubt; the goals, the reasons, verify that the foundation is solid.

But be careful of your doubt.