The Gift and Grief of Self-Doubt

Today's episode is an example of the type of content that I enjoy sending within my bi-weekly newsletter, The Unleashed Letters.

I received lovely feedback on my last newsletter, which included a personal story about a time when I experienced self-doubt (and fear), so much so that it changed the trajectory of my life. Who knows where I would be today or who I would be spending my life with had I made a different decision? 

We all experience life-altering moments and make life-altering decisions; however, our minds cannot even fathom the ramifications, consequences, or blessings of those decisions until later in life (sometimes decades later). And what if those moments or decisions were made from a place of self-doubt (and fear)? It's a grief experience most of us can't put our finger on unless we have cultivated some self-awareness.

There is definitely grief experienced as a result of self-doubt, but there are also gifts in doubt. Doubt leads us to ask questions and come up with better solutions.

Learn about my recent awareness and the dots I've connected in having Gate 63 (the Gate of Doubt) in my Human Design (as a 4/6 Emotional Manifestor). I hope you find it interesting enough to be initiated into wanting to learn your Human Design, too.

The more you know your grief and yourself, the less you look to others to tell you how you should show up in the world.


RESOURCES:

• Learn Your Human Design
• YouMap
• 1440 | Unbiased E-News
• Join My Bi-Weekly Newsletter, The Unleashed Letters

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Transcript

Victoria Volk: Hey Hey Hey, Hello, this is episode 160, and thank you for being here and for pushing play on this episode. And I wasn't sure what I was actually going to talk about until about five minutes ago before I sat down to record. And I realized that instead of reinventing the wheel and pushing out more content that I would actually share something that I've already shared to my newsletter subscribers that I received some really great feedback about. And so I thought why am I creating more content when people seem to like this? And it also gives me an opportunity to and it inspired the idea really to give you a taste of what I talk about in my newsletter. 

Victoria Volk: It is the place that I generally get a little bit more personal. I share a little bit more personal stories what's currently going on in my life or in my business. Yeah. It's kind of my little sacred space. And sometimes it can feel like I'm talking to the ether and no one's listening. Sometimes, like, with this podcast too, but I can actually see the stats that people are listening in fact. But it's kinda different with a newsletter like, you really don't know what people think about it or I mean, I guess they let you know if they unsubscribe, which that happens. I mean, I'm not gonna be for everybody. Right? But and that's okay. But I can see who opens them. Right? I can see that people are reading it. But I just don't always know how it lands, like how people feel about what I've shared. 

Victoria Volk: But this newsletter was a little different. And I thought I'm gonna share it because first of all, I think it's a great story. I personally think it's a great story. And it's my story. And it's a story that I really I don't know that I've shared on social media at all. I don't believe so. Maybe just like a sentence or something but I haven't shared the story and related it to something I've been learning about myself that I've expressed on this podcast already which is human design. And I've just been having aha moments left and right and a lot of self-awareness based on my human design by graph. And so I will put the link in the show notes again for this episode. I think I put it in the last episode. If you're curious about learning what your energy type is, such as mine, I'm a manifestor, or what your authority is, which is, either emotional or splenic or ego. I'm an emotional. Mine's emotional. And then also what your strategy is, like mine is to inform and initiate, and manifestors here to inform and initiate, whereas, like, manifesting generators are here to respond and then inform. And there's other different energy types and things like that. But if you're curious at all, there's so much free information out there. You can get your body graph and then just Google. Just go to the Googles and find all the rabbit holes because there are so many when it comes to human design. It can be very overwhelming. But I would just read about your energy type, read about your strategy and your authority, and just start there first and foremost.

Victoria Volk: And and then also, like, what your I forget what they're called like, your lines, like, I'm a four six. I think that's also important to read upfront and get an understanding of. But to my story now, in why I wanted to share this or why I shared it in my newsletter is because I have a gate of doubt and you'll I'm gonna read basically. I'm gonna read my newsletter because why reinvent the wheel again. But and because I received great feedback on this, I'm just going to read the newsletter and if it resonates with you, maybe it's something that you wish to sign up to receive on the regular. It's something I send out biweekly. It's not weekly. It's not daily. I don't spam you with salesy stuff. It's just a place, my sacred space, where I go to share some deeper thoughts. Really? That's really what I do. And then some funzy things I put in there too.

Victoria Volk: So today is a story about doubt and there is a great gift in grief when it comes to self-doubt. After graduating high school, I was to attend a four-year college for a degree in clinical lab science. However, as quickly as I moved in, just as quickly I moved out, self-doubt roared in my head so much so that I drove around the city while smoking cigarettes and I didn't even smoke. So, lo and behold, when I came to my human design and I've been learning about this stuff that I'm a four-six emotional manifest and that I have gate sixty three, the gate of doubt. I also realized I have gate sixty-four, the gate of confusion.

Victoria Volk: So no wonder I was paralyzed with fear at that time because gate sixty-three, the gate of doubt, is also a hanging gate for me and I'm not gonna go into a whole explanation of that, but meaning I don't have the opposite gate, which is gate four. The gate of answers. So I'm someone that is always seeking the answers. But the thing is with this gate of doubt, in not having the gate of answer, like, I just have to trust. I have to trust that the answer will come when it's supposed to come. 

Victoria Volk: So do you see the conundrum I was in to add insult to injury, the motivation of a manifestor energy type coincidentally, which really is not a coincidence at all, is fear. And so no wonder I packed my bag so fast. What I know to be true now is that I would have had everything within me to achieve that bachelor's degree. If I only trusted myself and could have had the wisdom to tune into my inner knowing with my defined heart or ego center, which is all about willpower and courage. And also my defined spleen center, which is also about intuition and the place of fear. And my defined solar plexus, which is our emotional center, where I could have taken a breath, stepped back from the decision, and from the situation, got into a neutral, emotional state instead of making a decision based solely on fear. My doubt and my fear got the best of me in that situation, and many others throughout my life. And that's the thing about life. It will keep dishing out lessons until we learn them. Hence, history repeats itself until we get it. Really get it. 

Victoria Volk: I suppose you probably have experiences of doubt and fear where the Voices of fear and doubt were the loudest in your head. It may be interesting for you to learn how those have been expressed through the lens of your human design. I just think it's all fascinating. But the gate of doubt is skeptical. And questioning, and it seeks proof. So to protect ourselves, those of us with this gate we look for evidence with this gate. Usually, it supports how we failed in some way. And this gate explains why I've always been my worst critic. And also why trust of myself and others has never come easily. My mind has been completely blown just by this one awareness, all alone like, just this gate this gate explanation within my human design, like, explains why I packed my bags? Why I didn't even give myself a chance? And it's been a theme throughout my life. 

Victoria Volk: But here's the thing, doubt isn't all bad though. It has been a growth catalyst for me. As has fear, once I started aligning with my intuition and my will. So in the garden of critical thinking, doubt can be likened to a seed. Cultivated with care and nurtured over time, it can sprout into a healthy thriving tree of wisdom. 

Victoria Volk: And today, as I'm talking about this concept of these seeds of doubt that we can experience in life, these small, persistent questions aren't encouragement to us to a question and explore and ultimately learn and grow. I mean, I can tell you I learned a lot in all of those situations where I let fear and self-doubt get the best of me. But doubt is often misunderstood as a negative force. I mean, we really think of doubt as this bad thing. Right? And that it's something to be avoided at all costs. However, it is, in fact, a fundamental aspect of human nature and a powerful tool for intellectual and personal growth.

Victoria Volk: Doubt catalyzes curiosity and critical thinking and we can open new doors to ideas and discoveries when we allow ourselves to quest in the status quo. It's interesting too, like, there was I can't remember what the quiz was. It was some personality thing, and it said that I was the questioner. No. It's fitting. Right? Like, I've taken so many different personality tests and there's, like, different pieces they all fit together. Like, there's a common theme with all of them. But seeds of doubt can be sown in various aspects of our lives from science and politics to personal relationships and like I'm talking about in self-reflection. 

Victoria Volk: So here are a few ways you can intentionally plant these seeds. Well, you can question authority. Don't blindly accept what authority figures tell you. Challenge assumptions ask for evidence and seek multiple perspectives before forming your own opinion. I've been known to do this and you can bet it's most often met with resistance, which it most likely will. Because here's the thing about being questioned. A lot of people don't like to be questioned. Right? And so they take defense to that. They get offended if you question. But it's for someone like me with the gate of doubt, it's how I learned to process and under stand, the perspective of other people like, I want, I am seeking my own conclusion. I am seeking my own answer. So do you see we're questioning or if I'm questioning, people can feel like I'm questioning them or I'm challenging them, but that's really not the case. That's where this gate of doubt has caused a lot of grief for me. 

Victoria Volk: Self-reflection is something you can do regularly to examine your own beliefs and actions. Ask yourself why you hold certain views or make specific choices. Are they based on solid reasoning or merely tradition and habit? This is a huge component of the grief recovery work. And you can, I can't even begin to tell you the skepticism that I had initially when I first came across grief recovery? I knew it was what I needed just based on what I was reading, but I personally went into it like I thought, this is something I knew I needed it, but I thought more importantly, I was thinking about how I could be of service, how I could help other people. So that was really the huge driver was, yes, I wanna help myself, but I think this will really help other me help me to help other people more. 

Victoria Volk: So I went into it with some skepticism as to if it really would help me because I had been a griever at that point for nearly forty years. Well, not quite that long. Thirty-five years, something like that, and fortunately, my intuition was much stronger at that point and I had more self-awareness to make a more aligned decision. And choosing to do that. And despite the fear, I did it anyway. And everything in my life has changed since then, like, everything, literally, like, I feel like I have evolved, I have changed and evolved in ways that I don't think would have happened that was a catalyst for me, for my growth. It's why I'm a huge proponent of it.

Victoria Volk: Critical media consumption. So in today's digital age, it's easy to fall victim to misinformation. So cultivating a healthy skepticism towards online content, fact check and cross reference sources. I actually shared in this newsletter on that note. I shared a resource that I came across, it's called fourteen forty and I'm just gonna make a note for myself here to add a link to it in the show notes because that is the best unbiased news I've come across in a long time. It it comes to your inbox, it's daily, and it's awesome. It's a great way to not have to watch the news, but still be in the loop of what's going on in the world. So I'll link to that in the show notes. 

Victoria Volk: Embracing uncertainty. It's okay to not have all the answers. And this has been, like, I you know, this is for me, this has been a difficult thing, like, I need to find the answer. And in fact, it's often a sign of intellectual honesty. Embrace your uncertainty as an opportunity to learn and explore. So when we're cultivating doubt, once the seeds of doubt are planted and they require nurturing to grow into something meaningful, this is some things that we can do to flourish this tree of knowledge. You can do research, deep dive into topics that peak your curiosity, like for me it's human design right now, seek out reliable sources, academic studies, and diverse perspectives to gain a comprehensive understanding. Engage in debate. Engaging in respectful discussions with others with different views can help sharpen your critical thinking skills. It also provides an opportunity to refine your arguments and consider alternative viewpoints. Stay open-minded. As you explore new ideas and perspectives, remain open to changing your mind. A flexible mind is a hallmark of intellectual growth. 

Victoria Volk: And learn from doubt rather than fearing doubt, see it as an ally in your pursuit of knowledge. Doubt is the impetus for progress and innovation, driving us to seek better answers and solutions. In the garden of our minds, seeds of doubt are not pests to be eradicated, but rather precious gifts that when nurtured can lead to bountiful harvest of wisdom and understanding. By sowing these seeds intentionally, embracing uncertainty, and fostering a spirit of curiosity and critical thinking, we can cultivate a richer, more nuanced understanding of the world around us. And I'll add end of ourselves. 

Victoria Volk: So as you navigate the ever-changing landscape of information and ideas, remember that doubt is not the enemy, but a faithful companion on your journey toward enlightenment. Embrace, nurture, and watch as it blossoms into a garden of knowledge and wisdom that continues growing season after season. And I'll add that the more you know your grief and yourself, the less you look to others to tell you how you should be showing up in the world. And by me learning about myself and you learning about yourself, whether it be through human design, whether it be through grief recovery work, energy healing work, the work that I offer or other modalities that you are curious about that may be able to support you, it's just peeling back the onion. We're just layer by layer uncovering and discovering who we are. And what we're here for, and what we want to be doing, how we want to be showing up, and just learning about ourselves, making ourselves, less, less, I don't know what the word is, unleashed from the past Right? I mean, this is really where the unleashed heart came to be is because this understanding that yes, my past is a part of me, but it doesn't have to be my future. It doesn't have to repeat itself. And how do we break these patterns of repetition of experiences? Because like I said, these lessons will continue time after time until we get them. It's maybe part of the journey and it's part of your human design of these things that you will go through, like, four, four, a four, six lines in the human design. 

Victoria Volk: We have three phases of life. First, we're like, just in it. We're in the thick of it for the first thirty years. We're having all these experiences. And then from thirty to fifty, it's like we're the observer. We're seeing how these things play out in people other people's lives were learning by observing. And then after fifty, fifty and older, we're we're on the roof. We come off the roof, I guess. Thirty to fifty, we're on the roof, just observing. And fifty and older were off the roof and have all this wisdom behind us. So that's in particular to the four six. So if any of this interests you and if anything that I said about the gate of doubt or any I could really talk about the other gates that I personally have and have how they've expressed themselves in my life, but this is a big one I think just because we doubt ourselves and our abilities and imagine the grief that causes us. Imagine the growth that that the growth the growth. Again talk. The growth that we stifle because of fear in that self-doubt. 

Victoria Volk: So I think this is a very important area of grief to dive into and reflect on within ourselves. So I'll ask you, what parts of your life have you experienced self-doubt? Have you had what have been your experiences of self-doubt? When have you let fear? Get the best of you. And moving forward, how do you want to change that perspective? Like, what are the questions that can help you come up with a better solution for when that feeling comes up again. 

Victoria Volk: And that's actually plays into my Youmap because one of my top five strengths is strategic. I strategically help other people come up with their own solutions. And with my strength of connectedness, I help them connect the dots from their past to their present to see how those patterns have repeated themselves. So I am seeing all of these things like, even Myers Briggs. Right? But that and that kind of assessment can be manipulated a little bit, but with Youmap and human design particular, I'm looking into how each of them are kind of playing into the other. It's something I'm just gonna I'm just starting to explore and I'm curious about. 

Victoria Volk: And so who knows where this curiosity and human design will lead me. But for the time being, I'm committedly immersed in learning about myself. I think what's important for anyone who does work that I do in particular is especially with grief, which can be a very heavy area to work in. I mean, obviously, and it comes with a lot of responsibility, I feel. It's important for me that I can make sense of myself and that I know myself as much as possible. Because that helps me serve others even better. And if I can connect things like self-doubt to stories that I have, that I can demonstrate and illustrate to my clients, people see themselves in other people's stories. Right? Like, I just think it's really important for any guide, mentor, leader, coach. I really don't know what to label myself as, but I think it's anyone that works in the capacity of one on one or group where there is an exchange of you know, if I'm giving feedback or I'm giving support for grief and or life coaching or whatever it is, I just think it's really important for the the coach, the mentor, the leader, the guide, whatever, to know themselves and to understand themselves. I think it really helps to negate the risk of projection where I project my beliefs or my wounds. Right? My deep wounds onto other people. My values onto other people. Like, if you don't know your values and you have that awareness about that, you can unwillingly and not intentionally, but people tend to give values based advice. Right? Like, For example, if I value success and I value money, I'm gonna give advice based on my value of success and money if someone's coming to me with a question about money or about money. Right? Like, so I'm I'm gonna be like, yeah, take that risk. You know, if, you know, if I'm a if I'm a risk taker with money, or that's how I made my money. You know what I mean? 

Victoria Volk: So it's really important for us to recognize ourselves first, to know ourselves so that we can be objective observers of other people in their lives, especially when we're if you're in a position like I am, where you're supporting others like I am in grief or in their life. So that's my two cents on that, but I hope this episode was enjoyable. I hope you found entertainment in my story. And if you did enjoy it, maybe you'll feel inclined to sign up for my newsletter, which it'll be coming out not tomorrow. When this episode goes live, but the following week. It's every other Tuesday at Three AM Central Standard Time. I have a live a new episode goes live. So yeah, I hope you join me there. 

Victoria Volk: And if you have any questions that I could answer on the podcast, I am always taking submissions. You can email me at victoria@theunleashedheart.com and just put question for podcasts in the subject line I can answer it you can be anonymous if you prefer.

Victoria Volk: I think that's it. So I'll put the link in the show notes for fourteen forty, the unbiased news in your inbox, the link for my newsletter. And for human design again, that's right. I was gonna put that link in there too. So I hope this was helpful. If it was, I asked that you please share it or leave a five-star review or even some thoughts. It just takes a few moments of your time, and it really helps me to put a put some words in maybe a name. I don't know. Sometimes people don't use their name to a listener. Right? Because I don't see who's listening to this podcast. But, yeah, I can feel kind of lonely sometimes, when you're putting out content and you just really don't know what people are thinking about it. So if you love it, I would love to know. Inform me, please, because as a manifestor we do love to be informed as well. So with that being said, much loved to you today and have a beautiful rest of your week. And remember, when you unleash your heart, you unleash your life. Much love.