Gary Ong | September 3rd, 2021

Every person carries with themselves a certain measure of doubt. We find doubt in everything we do: a new relationship, a new technical direction, a new business, or just lunch.

Doubt is a persistent occupational hazard for founders. Maybe that promising piece of data from yesterday was a fluke. Or, maybe that investor that showed so much interest is just pretending. With enough time, even the most ardent rationalist can be turned into a skeptic. Eventually, you start believing that you can no longer believe in anything. So we cling to doubt by digging in, convinced that being doubtful is equivalent to knowing the truth, rather than engaging in the actual process of doubting, questioning, and verifying.

Healthy doubt is a productive force. It alerts us to chinks in the armor and sends us looking for new directions, new solutions, and verification. It is a radar for possibly inconvenient truths. We just have to make sure to not turn healthy doubt into skepticism. So, there is a simple litmus test I take when I am doubtful: are you digging in, or are you looking with curiosity? While the first never ends, the second does and allows you to move forward.

Image credit: Arek Socha