Summary

The article discusses how the phrase "What If" can hinder success by leading to overthinking and self-doubt, and it offers strategies to counteract these negative thoughts.

Abstract

The author of the article emphasizes that the two words "What If" can be detrimental to one's success by fostering a cycle of doubt and hesitation. This cycle, referred to as "what if" hell, can cause even the most promising ideas to fade away. The article suggests that to combat this, individuals should challenge each negative "what if" with a positive, actionable one, focusing on taking small, manageable steps towards their goals. By doing so, they can maintain momentum and avoid becoming overwhelmed by the multitude of ideas and fears that can arise. The author also advises ignoring naysayers and external negativity, likening them to crabs in a bucket trying to pull others down. Ultimately, the article encourages readers to not let "what ifs" prevent them from pursuing their goals and to trust in their ability to take things one step at a time.

Opinions

The author believes that the phrase "What If" is often the beginning of a downward spiral into doubt and inaction.
Overthinking and looking too far ahead can be overwhelming and counterproductive.
It's important to address doubts by breaking tasks into smaller, more achievable objectives.
The author suggests writing down all ideas to clear the mind and then focusing on executing one idea at a time.
Negative opinions from others, or "naysayers," should be ignored to prevent them from affecting one's confidence and goals.
The article promotes the idea of self-efficacy and the belief that anyone can reach their goals despite external doubts or statistics.
The author encourages a mindset of incremental progress and resilience in the face of challenges.

These 2 Words Are Killing Your Chances of Success

Welcome to “what if” hell.

Have you ever gotten a really good idea? You get so excited about it that your whole body starts to tingle?

“This is IT! This is the idea that’s going to make all the difference!”

You know you’re on the right track. Finally!

Then a couple of days go by…

…and everything changes.

You start saying these two words and your excitement begins to waver...

“What If?”

These two words are killing your success. They trickle in little by little, and every idea gets its own “what if”.

What if can’t learn everything I need to learn?
What if other people can do it, but I can’t?
What if I’m wrong about this idea?
What if no one likes it?
What if I can’t do it?

All of the excitement, the ideas, and the brilliance begin to die off little by little.

Welcome to “what if” hell. This is where dreams go to die.

But they don’t have to…

What If the “What Ifs”

What if you could what if the “what ifs” as soon as they came in? (How much could a woodchuck chuck…)

For instance, I get “what ifs” a lot as I’m doing my calorie-counting challenge. The worst “what ifs” came at the beginning of the challenge.

“What if I’m cooking and it’s too hard to keep track of every ingredient? What if I go out to eat? Then what do I do? What if I have too many BBQ chips?? You seriously cannot eat just one!”

Looking too far ahead is overwhelming.

You have to take things one step at a time.

What if I just track this one meal?
What if I worry about going out to eat when it happens?
What if I stick to it for one day to see how it goes?

Of course, this happens when trying to earn income online too.

What if no one is interested in what I have to say? → What if I just write two posts on X/Twitter every day and see what happens?
What if no one signs up for my newsletter? → What if you just send it out and figure out how to get more subscribers as you go along?
What if I don’t have time to create blog posts, write Medium posts, go on Twitter, go on podcasts, write a book…? Woah, Nelly! Slow down! → What if I focus on creating one piece of content right now?

Every time a new “what if” pops up, think of a new “what if” that counteracts it and relieves the overwhelming feelings.

Take It Down a Notch

Our brains can sometimes run at 50,000 miles an hour. That’s too fast, and that’s when all those “what ifs” tend to rear their ugly little heads. If you need to, let all the ideas in and write them down so they get out of your head.

Instead of getting overwhelmed by them all, let them simmer for a while, then come back to them later. Pick one idea to focus on and execute it fully. Then go to the next.

Don’t pick giant ideas to start, just small ones you can tackle right away to gain momentum without going overboard.

Block Out the Noise

I was reading through comments this morning on a couple of Medium articles.

There are so many naysayers out there.

Naysayers get into your head and bring on the “what ifs”. You will have to learn how to block out their opinions.

Don’t let some random bro convince you “the market’s too saturated” or “you can only make money by talking about making money.” Or “only 1% of people stick to their weight loss goals.”

So. What?

You are not anyone else. You are you. And you are capable of reaching whatever goal you want.

You know that story about the crabs in a bucket, right? If crabs are stuck in a bucket together, the ones who try to reach the top to escape are pulled down by the other crabs.

Don’t let other people pull you down to where they are.

Final Thoughts

If you have a great idea, don’t immediately start going to the “what ifs” and talk yourself out of it. You might not know how to complete everything right now, but what if you don’t need to? What if you can just complete the first task?

The only thing that will hold you back from accomplishing your goals is your mind. Slow down. Take things one tiny step at a time. Block out the crab-bucketing naysayers. Gain momentum on your goal.

What if you can?

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina. I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love Vegas 🎰, hard rock music 🤘, and murder mysteries 📖.

I also love creating quick, easy-to-digest newsletters to help you find simple side income ideas online that won’t take over your life. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.