Give doubt a job

Doubt gets a bad rap. In a job where lives are on the line and confidence is king, it's easy to assume that doubt is the enemy. That voice in your head — “What if I mess this up?”, “What if I’m not good enough?” — feels like a threat. But here’s something we don’t talk about enough in the fire service:

When used effectively, doubt can sharpen your mind like a blade.

We’re trained to move fast. To assess, decide, and act under pressure. But when fear or uncertainty creeps in, the solution isn’t always to push it down or power through.

That’s where tactical doubt comes in.

Tactical doubt doesn’t mean doubting yourself. It means doubting the doubt. It’s the ability to take that spiral of negative thoughts and flip them back on themselves with the same logic they used to get in. When your mind says, “I’m not ready for this”, tactical doubt responds: “What if I’ll only feel ready once I do the thing?”

When you're gearing up and that voice creeps in — “I can’t do this”, “What if I freeze?” — you don’t need to drown it out with blind bravado. Try asking better questions:

• “What if that story isn’t true?”

• “What if this “fear” is just excitement and adrenaline?”

• “What if I’ve trained for this more than I realize?”

That’s the crack in the mental noise where perspective shifts. That’s the moment you go from spiraling to steady.

In the firehouse, on the scene, or in the heat of self-doubt, the right kind of questions can ground you. They give your brain something else to do other than question you. Let it question the questions.

Doing this interrupts the loop. And in that space, your experience, confidence, and training can come through.

So don’t fight doubt. Harness it. Give it a purpose and relevant work to do.

Because when you learn to doubt the doubt, you’re not only sharper, you’re more present, more adaptable, and more ready than you think.