Do you ever stop what you are doing and listen to the chorus inside your head?

I just took 10 sec, and this is what I heard:

• Did the person on that last call like me? Did I impress them and give them good value?
• I missed my workout this morning; I should go for a walk this afternoon.
• Is anyone going to read my emails during the holidays?
• There was something else I needed to add to the shopping list…what was it?

What do you notice about this list?

How do you think I would react if someone walked into my office and started blurting that stuff out to me?

Those voices in your head are not helping you!

As I go through my day, I generally think of those voices as “me.” I’m talking to myself, trying to “help” me get through the day.

But I’ve found that those voices aren’t very kind, they’re rarely helpful, and often they aren’t even truthful!

When I look at it, they generally tell me things I should be doing, correcting things that I might have gotten wrong, or mostly playing out insecurities and slights from the past.

That is not the voice of a friend! That voice is not going to make me a confident and effective leader.

So who is that?

If those voices are not me, and they aren’t friendly then what are they?

We all want to be safe, to be loved, and to be in control. So those voices are trying to remind us of what we think we need to keep ourselves safe. They are trying to protect us.

But the truth is:

• You are loved. Not because of what you do, but because of who you are.
• You’ll never be safe. That’s not how humans work. We take chances; we risk ourselves to make the world better. That’s how we’re made.
• There is no control. Everything is constantly and perpetually out of control, and it’s OK.

How do you quiet the voices in your head? Hit reply and let me know what works for you!