There are plenty of instances in life when we are faced with profound doubt about the path we are on and whether it is right for us. When we are experiencing this kind of substantial doubt, it can feel as though it pervades our entire being and will have drastic consequences for our outlook. This inevitably leads us to frantically look for ways to get out from under the feeling so that we can feel normal again.
However, when we try to escape doubt in this way, we often just end up tightening it around us. By struggling against it we strengthen the doubtful energy and only enhance its negative effects. In other words, the more that we give our attention to doubt the greater influence it will have on our lives and we will be unable to make real progress in any direction. Every time that we start making progress we will be soon hindered by doubt and we have to start from the beginning again.
If we were able to learn how to deal with doubt more skillfully, it would only have a very short effect on us. We might experience a slight twinge of resistence every now and again but the strength of habit invested in the process of overcoming would soon overwhelm the doubtful energy and we would be left with only clarity about what we need to do and how we need to do it.
The how of getting past doubt is not a secret but it does require some effort. We need to train ourselves to look at each moment of our lives individually so that one moment of doubt and worry is not able to consume us. The key that unlocks the path to clarity is mindful awareness in every present moment. In a mind that is regularly tended by training with insight meditation, doubt will have no where to take root and clarity will pervade instead.