Your internal narrative

We tell ourselves stories.

Stories of failure. Stories of hesitancy. Stories of contrast and scorekeeping.

The tough part about our internal narrative is that it’s the driver of our actions. Our hesitation to make another call to an unopened account because of the look you got the last time you were there. Or the phone call you know you need to make but just can’t get around to doing it, remembering how short and crisp the last one was. Or the meeting with the boss to make the plea for a raise, a meeting you can’t get around to planning on the calendar.

The internal narrative is silent but powerful.

And it’s often wrong.

The look you got last time? The buyer was in a bad mood, had a fight with her husband that morning, and skipped lunch that day. That’s all.

The phone call you need to make? The last time you tried it ended in ten seconds because the recipient, unknown to you, was in a meeting at the time. That’s all.

Hesitant to meet with the boss to plea for a raise? Maybe they are waiting for you to make the first move. What’s the worst that can happen? They say no? That’s okay, for they will at least know your ambitions.

The internal narrative, the stories we tell ourselves, often have more power over us than we realize.

The way to fight this monster is through action. Do things. Movement. Pushing. Focused growth. The more action and momentum you build for yourself the faster the negative internal narrative shuts up, retreats, and hides in the caves.

Action is the kryptonite of the negative internal narrative.