“What makes you think that you are ready for that job?” This is what some people may hear when they are getting ready to interview for a new role. However, what if this question isn’t coming from a friend or family member, but it is coming from inside their own head? Situations in their past or conversations with other people may have placed that seed of doubt into their mind and then the person replays it in their own head over and over. It becomes a story that the person believes going forward.
Have you faced a similar situation? For some people this type of negative messaging plays all day every day. Even though our brain is trying to keep us safe by playing those messages, it can have a devastating impact to performance. If this is happening, then you basically have two choices: you can choose to listen to that thinking and hold yourself back or you can accept that it isn’t the truth and get on with whatever you are trying to accomplish.
Automatic thinking allows those thoughts to become beliefs that gain strength the longer that you believe them. Instead of just letting the story keep playing in your head without questioning it, stop and decide if it is a story that is true and decide whether you want to continue listening to it or not.