Fighting Feelings of Defeat and Doubt

The sun brightly shined through my window as I opened up my eyes to the Minnie Mouse balloon that was hanging in the corner of my wall looking at me like an angel from above.  I immediately thanked the lord for waking me up another day, but then this overwhelming sense of sadness came over me that made me tear up a little. I didn't want to wake up this way because it was a blessing to be alive another day, but for some reason those feelings of defeat and doubt were heavy on my mind as I reflected on my journey to becoming an author.
It had been a long journey to get to this point where I am finally this close to publishing my book, but the fear, the doubt and the defeat were clouding my judgement in that moment because for some reason I felt like quitting. Of course that was not the right mindset to have, but that was the mood that I was in because lately things felt stagnant to me. I felt like I had been taking every bit of advice that I was given to market myself and put myself out there as an author, but I wasn't getting the response I wanted.

Although, I was very aware that nothing happens over night, I still allowed the doubt to creep in. It didn't help that I had looked at my book movie trailer that I had created the other night, which brought back memories of how hard I had struggled and fought to get to a point where I could show the world my resilience and determination. Most of all my greatness that sometimes I underestimated.

I knew that I had to try to shake these feelings because those feelings served as nothing but a barrier to my success, which for far too long, I have allowed those feelings to deter me from pursuing what I loved to do. I encourage anyone who is battling feelings of doubt and defeat to pray about it, meditate or do some form of self-reflection to see why you feel those feelings and to seek strength to overcome those negative feelings. It is okay to experience those feelings, but don't allow those feelings to become your way of living as it could prevent you from experiencing all that God has in store for you. 

Reflection of the Day: When you have feelings of doubt and defeat, how do you combat those feeling? Why do you think that we as humans experience these feelings, anyway?