The voice that matters most

When you have to do something you don’t want to do, how do you talk to yourself about it?

“I guess I’ll get it over with.”
“This isn’t fair.”
“I’ll probably screw this up.”
“There are a million reasons I shouldn’t have to do this.”
“What am I going to get out of this?”
“I’m resentful, so I’ll won’t put much effort into it. That’ll show ‘em.”

It can feel comfortable and familiar to be mad, to be resentful, to roll around in our grumpy feelings, to talk to other people about how much we don’t want to do whatever it is.

What happens when we make a decision to try something else? To say, instead:

“I’ll give this my best shot.”
“I don’t have to love it, but I’ll focus completely.”
“I get to decide what this experience means to me.”
“There are a million reasons I get to do this.”
“I’ll knock this out of the park. That’ll show ‘em!”

The voice that sets the tone isn’t the one of the person who tells us what to do. It’s the one in our head that tells us how to feel about it.

Ignite your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter for tips, tactics, videos, and techniques to hone your communication skills.

Pin It on Pinterest