Don’t Let Doubt Decide: How to Break Free From Endless Circling

Doubt never bargains. It only delays.

Every time you circle the same question — Should I quit? Should I start? Should I call? — you feed it.
Negotiation is oxygen. And oxygen keeps doubt alive.

The longer you debate with doubt, the tighter its grip.

The Parasite

You don’t negotiate with termites.
You don’t make peace with mold.
You clear the house.

Doubt is no different. Every time you sit at the table with it, you lose.
Because negotiation is oxygen. And oxygen keeps the parasite alive.

The Circling

Doubt rarely announces itself with a scream. It whispers. It offers “just one more angle.”
You convince yourself that thinking it through one more time will bring clarity.

Instead, it drags you in circles.

• Rereading the same notes over and over.

• Asking three different friends the same question, hoping one gives certainty.

• Promising yourself, I’ll decide when I have more time, more money, more confidence.

But that moment never comes. And doubt knows it.

Every moment of hesitation is fuel for doubt. The game shifts when you move.

My Lesson

Years ago, I had the chance to pitch a screenplay in Hollywood. I remember sitting in my small apartment in L.A., script pages scattered across the floor like confetti. The meeting was hours away, but instead of resting, I argued with the voice: “You’ll embarrass yourself.” “It’s not ready.” “You should cancel.”

By 3 a.m., I wasn’t editing the script anymore. I was editing myself.

The next day, I dragged my body into the pitch room hollowed out. I don’t even remember what I said — only that it wasn’t alive.

Doubt had already won the night before.

The Hard Medicine

Your work is not to manage doubt.
It is to remove it.

That doesn’t mean you remove risk. Risk is part of life.
It means you refuse to let doubt be the one who decides.

Because certainty never comes.
And doubt never runs out of arguments.

The moment you stop negotiating is the moment your energy returns.
Not in the endless circling, but in the clarity of no debate.

Where Doubt Shows Up

Look around and you’ll see it everywhere.

• In careers: people hoard certifications, polish LinkedIn profiles, or scroll job boards for years, but never send the application.

• In relationships: couples stay together long after love has turned into avoidance, negotiating the same arguments in endless loops.

• In creativity: manuscripts sit in drawers, songs half-recorded, businesses forever in the “idea phase” — waiting for the mythical day when the doubt goes quiet.

It never does. Because doubt’s only job is to keep you circling.

A Practice

Here’s how I cut doubt’s oxygen supply today:
Write it once. Put its argument on paper. Name it.
Cross it out. Literally strike a line through it. Remove it from the loop.
Then ask: If doubt weren’t in the room, what would I choose?

One of those moments came to me recently when I wanted to reach out to

Ajit Nawalkha

. I circled it for weeks.
Doubt kept whispering: “What if he ignores you?” “What if you’re not ready?” “What if it looks like chasing instead of leading?”

I rewrote the email a dozen times in my head. I stalled. I waited for the “perfect” moment.

Finally, I wrote every one of doubt’s arguments on paper — and crossed them out. The choice became obvious: hit send.

So I did. Not with certainty about the outcome, but with clarity that I refused to keep circling.

Ajit’s reply was simple: “I’m looking forward to seeing your creations in the world. And find paths to match!”
Not a promise. Not a guarantee. But a door cracked open — one I never would’ve seen if I’d kept negotiating with doubt.

That’s the point: clarity doesn’t arrive when doubt is satisfied. It arrives when you stop giving it oxygen.

The Invitation

So here’s my invitation:

Where are you negotiating with doubt right now?
What question are you circling, waiting for clarity that never comes?

Stop circling.
Clear the house.
Make the call.

Because reinvention doesn’t wait for doubt to disappear.
It begins the moment you refuse to give it oxygen.

Clear the Circling — Start The Decision Detox

If doubt is chewing through your energy like termites in the walls, it’s time for a cleanse: The Decision Detox.

In less than 10 minutes you’ll:
– Pin down the one decision that’s been circling.
– Run it through a simple filter that clears the fog.
– Lock it in — so the parasite can’t crawl back.

Here’s what one client told me:
“I probably spent a minute with the Decision Detox. I named the decision, ran it through, and suddenly realized the answer: I should ask for this amount per month. That clarity gave me the confidence to put a real number on the table — and it meant more income from the very first step.”

And to keep you steady, I’ve added a One Decision Meditation (4 min.) — a quick reset whenever hesitation starts to creep in again.

This isn’t about managing doubt. It’s about cutting it off at the root.

Because reinvention begins the moment you decide once, and stop circling.