Have you ever been on the precipice of change, and your inner voice of doubt turns up the volume? Or maybe someone doesn’t react the way you were expecting, or you get some negative feedback at work and need to make some changes, or you’re walking into an interview or networking event, and there is that voice, echoing everything that could possibly go wrong.
I aways say that my voice of doubt knows too much! She knows everything I’ve messed up, every tiny and colossal foible, every disaster and challenge and problem, and she pulls them out just when I need a boost of confidence. SUUUUUPER helpful!
But fear not, there is a way around this. I once heard Dr James P Gills Jr speak. Dr Gills is a 6-time double Ironman triathlon finisher…a stunning feat of endurance by any definition. When you’re completing a 5-mile swim, 240 miles of biking and 52 miles of running, you have a LOT of time for your voice of doubt to get in the way, so I feel like he has some experience with this!
He said, “I learned to TALK to myself rather than LISTEN to myself.”
That hit me like a ton of bricks! I’m over here listening to that voice in my head rather than talking to myself!! So here’s the hack!
When you hear that inner voice of doubt start kicking up dust in your ol’ brain box…talk to yourself. Ask yourself this question…
“What if this goes WELL?”
And start listing out what happens if it goes well and enjoy the instant shot of confidence. You’ll still be nervous, but at least it won’t be all doom and gloom as you courageously step into the unknown.