Doubt the doubt and walk the path

On uncertainty, Dark Night of the Soul and Model Thinking

Doubt is inherent to ambition as there is no need to doubt simple tasks. Only when an objective starts to test the imagination and outcomes become uncertain, doubt starts to emerge. If doubt is a response along a spectrum of uncertainty, one can wonder what happens when one increasingly pushes this to a limit. And it seems here, that doubt drifts from a question of failure or success to one of meaning, confronting when doubt itself is meaningful.

Dark Night of the Soul

At a certain point in the past I stumbled upon the term ‘Dark Night of the Soul’. The Dark Night of the Soul describes a profound inner, spiritual struggle or existential disorientation, originating from the 16th‑century Spanish mystic John of the Cross. It is a defining experience in which a person feels lost and stripped of certainty, marked by intense confusion and radical doubt. At the same time, it is a moment of unavoidable confrontation that can make or break, and can open a path to deep inner transformation. It is exactly a process that shifts focus from performance to meaning.

Illustration in the setting of ‘Blood Sport’ (1988)

I want to illustrate this concept and corresponding ideas through the lens of Bloodsport, as it unfolds in a high stakes environment in which doubt slowly creeps into the resolve of an otherwise self-assured protagonist.

The film tells the story of Frank Dux, portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who competes in the Kumite—an underground martial arts tournament held in Hong Kong. While Frank is a self-assured fighter who easily wins his early matches, his close friend is brutally injured in a tournament fight by the antagonist, Chong Li—an event that introduces growing doubt into Frank’s mindset. This tension culminates in the climactic final fight between Frank and Chong Li, during which Chong Li cheats and blinds Frank.

For me, this is the vital moment in the movie. It introduces a spiritual turn and a discontinuity of the kind I referred to — one that even showed in tone and performance, as Van Damme’s previously unconvincing acting suddenly becomes focused and intense. It was a shift I initially struggled to fully grasp, but I later realized that it is, in fact, a well-depicted cinematic Dark Night of the Soul.

The blinding leads to profound disorientation. After a moment of intense struggle, as one can see in the included image, he is able to find composure and calmness through the recollection of his training, which included sessions practiced blindfolded, and goes on to win decisively. It is a movie, after all.

The Dualism of Achievement and Meaning

While doubt in our abilities is common, doubting meaning is rare. This is largely because we are usually healthy and functioning, which naturally places our focus on external goals such as competition. There is a silent assumption that our well-being and stability are guaranteed. But when our bodies or minds are impaired—through illness, injury, or other challenges—the focus shifts. Concerns turn toward recovery, reflection, or even spiritual considerations. In this context, regaining orientation, coordination, and resolve becomes the true achievement, and one could argue that everything beyond this point is a bonus. The real win for Frank, if you ask me, is precisely this, not the tournament title.

It only makes sense to doubt you models and preparation

The movie actually offers more than just a vivid depiction of this concept, which is why it remains a classic for martial arts enthusiasts. What made it especially interesting at the time was that it appeared in an era without any clear consensus on what constituted the most effective fighting method — was it karate, kickboxing, or kung fu? This was before organizations like the UFC staged real tournaments to get an answer to this question. In terms of Model Thinking, people were essentially asking what the best “model” of fighting was — a logical and very practical question, since martial artists wanted to train in the most effective style. In this light, all the martial artists in the movie can be seen as embodiments of particular models: specific fighting schools and their underlying philosophies.

Through this lens one can also meaningfully approach the question when doubt makes sense. In this context it only makes sense for the fighters to doubt their model and preparation as the rest is uncontrollable uncertainty anyway. One either believes in this, and competes, or otherwise does not. You see, in a competitive and complex environment one can’t have total information on what the best model is and how other participants will strategize and execute their strategy.

Therefore, in a competitive setting, it makes sense to critically examine and doubt one’s model and preparation beforehand. But once the moment of execution arrives, commitment is required and doubt must disappear, as it will be of no value and only be detrimental. Eliminating meaningless doubt is not straightforward, but it is an essential part of competition.

Doubt the doubt

As one can see, doubt is a logical companion of ambition, but only meaningful when it concerns one’s models and preparation. If one is properly prepared and employs adequate models, one should let go of the doubt and simply follow the path and execute, as everything else is meaningless and a burden.