Are You Reading The Right Script?

I was talking to a fellow coach last night who was asking me for some advice to deal with an athlete’s dilemma. The athlete was essentially having confidence issues. It goes right back to what I wrote last week about a successful mindset. You can really hurt your chances of success – at anything – if you have something negative in your mind.

I once heard a mental health professional put it in terms of the left and right sides of your brain. When it comes to having a successful mindset, the saboteur is always the left side, the side of linear reasoning and language. The left side is the side that thinks it knows everything, and it’s all about having a script. For many people, that script tells them that they are going to fail at losing weight before they even start.

Maybe they’ve had a bad experience in the past, or maybe they’re just naturally skeptical, but the left side of their brain tells them in no uncertain terms exactly how their efforts are going to end up. The thought of potential failure exists exclusively in this side of the brain. But there’s one really important thing you need to know about that script – it isn’t representative of a real thing; it’s something your brain is making up.

If you ever catch yourself being a pessimist, just ask yourself a simple question – where would I be without that thought?

It’s really simple, actually. Does that negative thought represent anything real that is occurring, or is the left side of your brain writing a script where you fail? If it’s the latter, all you have to do is write a different script.