More With Mike Podcast: How To Squash That Little Voice In Your Head That Holds You Back

I’m not good enough.

I’m not smart enough.

I don’t deserve it.

I’ll never make it.

I don’t have what it takes to be successful.

I failed before and I’ll fail again.

Hey, little voice… fuck-off, you’re not wanted here.

Episode #6 How To Squash That Little Voice That Holds You Back

No one’s immune to that little voice that holds us back from being our best.

I’m sure you know the voice that I’m referring to as well.

That voice that feeds us all the bullshit excuses and reasons of how we can’t and won’t do something.

How we’ll fail, be laughed at, embarrassed,  and left defeated.

That same stupid voice that gets the best of us from time to time.

How My Little Voice Got The Best Of Me

Just recently, I decided to take on a self induced 30 day cold shower challenge.

I committed to myself that I would take a cold shower every day for 30 days.

Definitely not an ease feat since cold showers are… well, cold.

And not just cold, but very cold. Like, very very cold!

OK – you get the point.

Anyways, this is exactly why I decided to take on this challenge, to challenge myself not just physically, but mentally too.

I like pushing myself out of my comfort zone.

I find that when I do that, other decisions and situations that would otherwise be challenging, become more manageable and easier to take on.

In any case, I only made it to day 19.

That little voice in my head telling me it was too cold that evening for a cold shower, that I didn’t have to do it, that I had nothing to prove, got the best of me.

I listened to the little voice, decided to not take the cold shower, and just like that, my attempt at 30 straight days of cold showers was over.

I failed.

Not because I couldn’t do it or didn’t want to do it, but because I let that stupid little shit head voice get the best of me.

“People Like Me”

I decided to share my cold shower challenge failure with our community here at The Wellness Bucket.

When I did, I received an email from one of our community members thanking me for sharing my story because she didn’t realize “people like me” dealt with that little voice as well.

Regardless of who you are and what you do, there’s a good chance that little voice will always be there, whispering limiting and defeating ideas and outcomes to you.

Whether it’s a professional speaker, athlete, medical professional, anyone at all.

That little voice is there, it’ll always be there, and sometimes it’s going to win.

As much as I’m not a fan of that idea, it’s the truth.

And that’s OK.

We won’t overcome that stupid voice and win all of the time.

As long as we win a majority of the time, that’s what matters.

Sometimes we’ll win, sometimes we won’t.

The key is to win more often than we lose.

OK, so how do we do that?

3 Ways To Smash That Little Voice That’s Holding You Back

1. Just Do It

I’m taking a page out of the Nike playbook here and saying just do it.

Whatever it is that you’re out to do, accomplish, or create – just do it.

Do it despite all of the stupid bullshit ideas and thoughts your little voice is feeding you on why you can’t and won’t succeed, why you should stop, and how you will fail.

Go ahead, be afraid… and do it anyways.

Lean into fear.

In fact, give fear the ole’ middle finger for good measures and tell it to take a hike.

Chances are it won’t, and that’s just fine too.

Act anyways, despite whatever fear you may be feeling.

I remember how scared I was before a recent 50 mile ultra marathon race that I ran earlier this year.

I was full of fear about this race because I didn’t know what to expect, I had never completed this many miles before.

In addition, there was wild buffalo that roamed the island that I was on for the race so of course thoughts of, “what will I do if I come face to face with a buffalo” were running through my mind.

You ever see a buffalo?

They’re gigantic!

As scared and fearful as I was about the unknown the morning of my race, I felt the fear, the most fear I remember ever feeling, and did it anyways.

I got out there on the course and just started running, scared as hell with that little voice screaming at me louder than ever (don’t do it, that’s so many miles, what if you come across a buffalo?)

I refused to let fear and the little voice trying to hold me back stop me from going through with the race (which I did) and having one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had running that race.

2. Focus On The Good

You’ve probably heard it said, “focus on the worst case scenario because when you do, you realize the worst case scenario usually isn’t as bad as you make it out to be“.

Uh, no.

Why on earth would you or I ever focus on the worst case scenario?

Here’s an idea (and by idea, I mean do this instead), let’s focus on best case scenario.

Let’s focus on the good that’ll come from taking action, from leaning into fear, from feeling fear and taking action anyways, in spite of fear.

A baseball player doesn’t focus on worst case scenario and striking out.

A soccer player doesn’t focus on worst case scenario and missing a penalty kick.

An entrepreneur doesn’t focus on worst case scenario and a failed business venture.

They all focus on the potential good, on best case scenario.

It’s these thoughts that helps them move forward and take action despite any fear they may be feeling or whatever thoughts and ideas their little voice may be trying to feed them.

3. Talk To Others

No one is immune to that little voice that resides in our heads that’s constantly trying to fuck with us and stop us from feeling and being at our absolute best.

If you think you’re the only one who has to deal with that silly voice trying to hold you back, think again.

One of the quickest ways to squash that little voice is to tell others about it.. the thoughts, ideas, and fears you’re experiencing.

There’s a good chance that who you tell has also experienced those same thoughts, ideas, and fears and because they have, they’re able to relate to you and often times, talk you through it.

You’re not alone.

And if for whatever reason you have no one to talk to about the thoughts, ideas, and fears that you’re having and are holding you back… reach out to me.

I’ll talk to you about it… I’m serious too.

You’re awesome and I refuse to let anything (including that bullshit little voice) hold you back from being your absolute best and tapping into the greatness that exists within you right now.

The same voice that stops you from taking action and keeps you “safe” is the same voice that keeps you from growing, doing, experiencing, and becoming your absolute best.

You’re awesome!

Mike