5 steps to overcome your inner demon saying 'I'm not good enough'

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How do I overcome my inner demon and inner voice saying 'I'm not good enough’?


Step 1: Add in ‘DO’

Recognize that this thought and state (which is the result of a feeling like ‘not good enough’) is just something you’re doing.

In this scenario, you're DOING doubting yourself, because when you say ‘I'm not good enough’, you're doing self-doubt.

By transforming ‘I’m not good enough’ into ‘I’m DOING doubt about myself around my competition’, gives you space and time to pause and reflect; if you’re doing self-doubt, what would you love to do instead?

Step 2: What would you love to do instead? State this in positives.

What would be really helpful to think and feel around your competition? Dive into your answer and really go into detail, fire up those neuropathways for ‘I can do this’!

Step 3: Check your language

Powerful, positive and productive language is CRUCIAL, because the words you use strengthen the associated neuropathways e.g. not good enough or crushing it, and activate the connected feelings.

Write out all of the different ‘I'm not good enough’ thoughts in positive, powerful, productive language or language. For example:

  • I am strong enough

  • I have got this

  • I can do this

  • I'm gonna freakin crush it

  • I'm great at deadlifting

  • I'm brilliant at swimming

  • I'm getting faster and faster every single day

  • I'm getting stronger and stronger every day

  • I am putting in the training that I need to be the best I can be

  • I'm focusing on the right things to be the best athlete I can be

  • I have the best habits that are helping me be the best athlete I can be

This one thing, is gonna be mega performance-enhancing.

Because if you're consistently saying to yourself, for example:

  • I'm going to get overtaken

  • I'm too slow

  • I'm too weak

  • I’m in pain

  • I’m tired

  • I’m a poor cyclist/runner etc.

You will NEVER really smash your performance.

And I'm talking from experience.

You may think that when you say things like, ‘I’m you're such a loser’, you’re motivating yourself, but having coached hundreds of athletes, I can tell you, you’re not getting everything out of your performance that you can.

It is MUCH MORE performance-enhancing to say things to yourself like, ‘hey, you're freaking awesome, you've totally got this, keep going, push through, push your limits, you know why you're doing this, you can achieve your full potential.’

Once athletes have switched to THIS way of thinking, they’re knocking off significant amounts of time.

Replace every single, unhelpful thought you have with one of your performance-enhancing thoughts and you too will be taking your performance to the next level immediately.

Step 4: Positive evidence

When you’re doing self-doubt, you’re not recognising all of the positive evidence showing you that you’ve got this.

Your brain will edit your reality according to what you unconsciously tell it to look for.

If you're unconsciously and unintentionally telling your brain to look for all of the reasons why you can't do something, then they're the things it will highlight to you.

For example, if you're lifting a huge amount of weight, but you have this phrase of ‘I’m not good enough’ going through your mind, your brain will show you all the evidence pointing out that you can’t do this.

However, if you repeat to yourself ‘I can do this’ and then intentionally and consciously think about all the times you lifted this weight and more, and crushed past goals/training sessions, then you will increase your chances of lifting that weight.

A couple of years ago, I had a pro triathlete who believed he was a slow swimmer.

So we looked at his top swim times and compared them to Kona athletes and other races. His swim times held up extremely well and so I asked him, do these times still make you a slow swimmer?

This was enough for him to start to change his belief as we his reality wasn’t actually true, but because of his old beloef and the way the brain works, he only ever saw his times as slow until that moment.

After some more work that day, he was first out the water in the triathlon race for the first time in his career the next day.

So remember to look back at all the other reasons why you should be confident in crushing your competition and all the reasons for why you can do this - and it doesn't have to relate to your sport. Use all positive evidence relating to you crushing something.

Any time you do self-doubting thoughts/feelings, hit that pause button, know that it’s B.S. and remind yourself of your positive evidence, and that you’ve freaking got this.

Step 5: Intentionally create your reality

Really work on consciously and intentionally changing your thoughts and narrative from doing self-doubt to doing super great, because this is the reality your brain will create, and this is what will help you take your performance to the next level.

You want to create a reality and environment in which you can perform optimally, and you need to ensure your brain is helping you, by telling and showing you that you can smash it.

 

Let me know what you notice in your performance by implementing these steps in the comments below!