“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr

This quote reminds me of the little voice. That little voice in our heads that we always hear. The little voice that doubts. That little voice that says we can’t do something. That little voice that presents us so eloquently with all those excuses we accept – just  like the video in my last blog entry contained. That little voice that contributes to us cracking under pressure. That little voice that breaks our discipline.  The little voice of daily compromise.

We all face it. Noone is immune. Everyone faces it equally. And it never goes away. And you can always rationalise it. And the worst thing – noone can hear it and noone except yourself knows if you’re given in to it.

Winning this daily battle of taking control of your thoughts, feeling and attitudes is crucial if we want to achieve anything significant. There’s no easy formula to developing mental toughness and ignoring the little voice but here’s a few tips on techniques that you can use as ‘circuit breakers’ when those negative thoughts come into your head. These will give you a chance to quickly take stock, to not let that negative little voice runs its usual pattern, and give you the chance to change your thinking in that moment.

And just watch – if we can replace all our negative thoughts with positive thoughts, imagine how our performance, our output and our behaviour would change. Try it.

Tip # 1 – When the negative thought comes into your head, yell ‘STOP !‘ to yourself. Out loud if appropriate or inside your head. Now replace with a positive

Tip # 2 – When the negative thought comes into your head, name as many animals as you can as quickly as you can. ‘pig, cow, giraffe, elephant, cat …’ This is a circuit breaker for the existing negative thought. Now replace with a positive.

Tip # 3 – When the negative thought comes into your head, count to 10 out loud as quickly as you can.

Tip # 4 – When the negative thought comes into your head, grab your breast or crotch or punch yourself. Sounds weird doesn’t it. But again, this acts as a circuit breaker for the negative thought so you can replace it with a positive one. And just watch, you’ll start to catch yourself before the negative thought starts running because this action is so embarrassing !

Good luck !