Is your negative self-talk holding you back? Sometimes it is hard to take the first step toward your goals, especially if you have not been successful in the past. Don’t let your history or lack of success sabotage your future attempts.  Gain courage to take the first step by working on your mindset.

Changing your mindset can improve your courage to face your fears.  Spend the needed time to work on your issues instead of letting self-doubt and fear hinder you.  There is not an easier way, you must put in the hard work to deal with your self-doubt. 

Here is one person’s story:

I work with a gal who wants to improve her running speed.  When she has worked on her speed in the past, she has suffered from an injury.  She tells herself that she can’t work on her speed because she will get injured and will have to take time off from running.   She lacks self-confidence to train on her own.  This gal began doing some journaling about her fear of injury and her desire to improve her race times. This reflection helped her change her mindset.  Instead of saying to herself, I will get injured, she began to say that she needed more information on how to speed train in a healthy manner. Because of this mindset shift, she had the confidence to take the first step and reach out to a running coach.  She did end up training under the guidance of this coach.  She realized that she would not reach her running goal until she changed her mental mindset. 

Other examples might include:

• Finding time to workout
• Planning meals
• Organizing your closet

There is great power in taking action.  It is the first step toward change and towards reaching your goal.  The action doesn’t have to be perfect, but it must be some sort of movement.  The gal still had a fear about getting injured. However, with the change in mindset, she had the courage to take action and reach out to a running coach.

We sometimes make decisions based on our feelings instead of making decisions based on our goals.  Take control of your doubts and fears. Instead of saying I do not feel like getting up and……….(fill in an action).  Practice saying to yourself I will get up and ……….(fill in with same action) so I can reach my goals.  Make the decision ahead of time that you will take the necessary action. 

Sometimes you might not feel ready or have the right amount of courage to take the action. When this happens, it is ok to say to yourself, “I might not feel as confident as I need to, but I am going to take action even though my voice sounds shaky, or my knees are shaky.  I will take action.”

Is your negative self-talk holding you back? Taking small (shaky) steps is what builds confidence. Confidence can help you to overcome your fears.  Don’t let your history hinder your future attempts.