Your Inner Dialogue is a Jerk!
Hopefully the title of this article does not describe what is happening inside your head daily. Our brains are incredibly creative and that is amazing, however it’s also potentially destructive. The stories that we tell ourselves every single day can be incredibly helpful but also can create a world that doesn’t even exist. This subject is the area that I most often coach my clients on. So how do we know if our stories are serving us or even real?
Is this real?
The first question that I like to ask is, “is this real”? By simply saying those 3 words, it gives you a moment to pause and ponder the question of “did I create this all in my head”? I have found that it’s never as bad as you think it is and it’s typically never as good as you think it is either. In our head we have created something so vivid that it can feel like it is real and begin to fixate on what others are thinking or what their plans are. Human beings are terrible at knowing other people’s thoughts/intentions, so let’s focus on ourselves first.
Write it down
The most underutilized and amazing tool available to us all, is having a pen and piece of paper available. Writing down your thoughts will help to purge and organize what is swirling around your brain. Most of the time this simple exercise of JOURNALING, will allow you to see the world you have created. Journaling provides an opportunity to identify any negative or positive thoughts that are happening. It will also lead you to finding the potential trigger for the story you have created, allowing you to be aware of the trigger in the future.
Find an outlet
Having an outlet to take your mind off your daily stresses or even your potential big idea is so important. Regardless if the thoughts are positive or negative, we generally get way too close or emotional about the thought, so we aren’t thinking clearly. It really doesn’t matter if it’s working out (releasing those endorphins is always good), meditating, taking a nature hike or whatever takes your mind away for a bit. The thought will eventually come back and when it does you will have more clarity and energy to take it on.
One of my favorite quotes I recite is by Lao Tzu. “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny”. Your mind is a beautiful thing but just make sure that you are checking in on those thoughts to ensure they are best serving you and those you love.
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JM Ryerson founded and sold 3 businesses and is now helping leadership teams do the same. He is an Author, Leadership & Performance Coach, International Speaker, and host of the Let’s Go Win podcast who has been building companies and leading sales teams for over 20 years. JM is the co-founder and CEO of Let’s Go Win whose mission is to increase leadership, enhance culture, and help teams achieve peak performance. JM’s great passions are inspiring people to live their best lives and become open to what life has in store for them. His ultimate goal is to give others the tools that will allow them to transcend their self-limiting beliefs. JM was raised in Montana and lives in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife Lisa and their two amazing boys.