Work is hard. But we often make it even harder for ourselves.
Or if I put it another way, the voice in our head makes it hard for us.
It’s that repetitive voice that, if we’re not careful, mindful and focused, runs our life for us.
There’s often a disconnect between what we need to do and what we want to do – inside work and outside work.
We want to get into work early. Our voice tells us to stay in bed.
We think when we’ve made a positive decision to go to the gym, there’s going to be no opposition.
We think when we’ve made that promise, there’ll be no resistance. But every decision you make will have opposition in your head. Forget the gym. Let’s watch Tinder Swindler, it tells us.
Most of us have lived this way for years. I know I have. But the voice is so seductive, it plays into our desire to “take the easy road” even when we know in our true inner essence that it’s not helping us long-term.
I’ve often wondered about tactics to combat this enticing voice.
And spiritual leader, Jay Shetty, has identified an excellent technique to win the battle.
His advice is simple – ‘plan for the voice in your head’.
I’ve used it in work and it’s invaluable in my toolbox to get important things done.
Do you have a project you want to complete? And your voice says ‘we have plenty of time’. Do you have an important email you need to send? And your voice says ‘we’ll send it later’.
I know these are scripts that have played out in my mind time and time again in the workplace.
Remember – and this is KEY – it’s the voice that doesn’t feel like it. The true ‘I’ – that is us intrinsically underneath and behind the voice – knows it’s important.
That’s why we get frustrated, annoyed, upset if we don’t act on our real instincts. When we follow the voice, we’re so disappointed with ourselves.
The solution? It’s to ‘plan for the voice in your head’.
We need to create an alternative script to communicate with that voice.
When the voice becomes strong, our true ‘I’ becomes weak. So we need to turn the volume up and debate it.
Think of regular patterns in which the voice makes you turn away from things you want to do.
Then write out a suitable script to calmly disagree – and you can even practice role play, too. When that voice comes up, you have the tools to combat it.
When that voice says ‘you don’t need to do that meeting presentation yet’, the script says ‘you’ll feel amazing when you’re fully prepared’.
Notice, if you have your argument ready, it’s almost like planning for a debate.
And you’ll win it more times than not because, when the voice can’t stand the bright light of your conscious presence, the real ‘I’ taking back control.
If you deeply understand your weaknesses, you can create strength by preparing for the debate.
So when you hear the voice, you’re ready to counter.
Paul Brown 