High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 574: What to Do When You Doubt Yourself

Episode Date: October 26, 2023

High performers don’t hope their thinking will work for them; they make their thinking work for them. They are intentional and purposeful with their daily self-talk. They condition their minds each and every day which helps overcome self-doubt. Intentional thinking does.  This Week’s Power Phrase: “I level up my thoughts to level up my life.” This Week's Quote of the Week: “Fear and self-doubt have always been the greatest enemies of human potential.” Brian Tracy 

Hi friends, my name is Dr. Sindra Kampoff, a national leader in the field of sport and performance psychology. Every week I'm on the local radio sharing my top tips on exactly how to develop the mindset of the world's best, so you can accomplish all your dreams. Get ready for a jammed, packed episode focused on practical tips to help you get after your goals and step out of your comfort zone. Let's go. Time to check in with Cinder Kampoff today. And Cinder, the big question on the docket for the day is what do you do when you doubt yourself? Like doubting yourself all the time, right? What do we do all the time? You have a quote you want to start us off with. I love this quote by Brian Tracy, and he said,

fear and self-doubt have always been the greatest enemies of human potential. So what inspired this topic today? Well, exactly what you just said, that we all experience self-doubt. And you know, I worked with professional athletes, really successful business leaders, entrepreneurs, and you might think that those people at the highest level don't experience self-doubt, but that's actually not accurate. And I found that the more we're pushing ourselves courageously and getting outside of our comfort zone, the doubt can be louder than ever. And so I think the key today that we're going to talk about is daily mental conditioning, every day deciding to level up those thoughts and not believe those thoughts is key.

Why is it so important for us to overcome self-doubt? Well, when we experience self-doubt, we just generally feel really stuck. We don't move towards our goals. And maybe we even stop dreaming big about what we can do. And the thing is that when we level up our thoughts about ourselves or what we can accomplish, you know, that really makes a big difference on if we achieve that. And so the first step is really leveling up your thoughts about yourself and the possibilities that exist for you. And I think that, you know, the one of the biggest important factors in our own success is how we

talk to ourselves about our experiences and about ourselves. And so we interpret things throughout our life through our self-talk. And so we really do have to watch those words because, you know, how we describe these things in our head, both internally and externally, become what contributes to our self-doubt. I was just having a conversation with somebody yesterday about this very topic, which I find is so interesting. What do you think is one of the first things that you can do to address that? Well, number one, it's essential that we don't believe everything we think because our brain's main purpose is to keep us safe and watching out for negativity. So that's really important not to believe everything you think. And then I think also we want to just notice these automatic negative thoughts.

I like to call these ANTS. It was inspired by a book i read by daniel amen and we're even teaching this to fourth graders this year in this curriculum uh lisa because we all need to recognize this and just noticing these automatic negative thoughts is really the the second step to controlling your mind and just to know that you have a choice to address these automatic negative thoughts and we've always talked about on these five-minute spots that awareness is the first step in controlling your mind. And just listening to those thoughts non-judgmentally, deciding those are things you don't need to believe is really essential to reach your human potential. So what's one of the ways that we can

address the self-doubt when it comes up? Well, once we notice the automatic negative thinking, just remember that everything in your life is based on the meaning that you give it. And we're meaning making machines, meaning we can choose the meaning we give to a future event. And we can also choose the meaning we give to a past event that may kind of replay in our mind over and over again, sometimes unconsciously. So a tool in psychology that is really helpful is the tool called reframing. And that's all about the meaning that you're making around events. And so when you use your thinking to really help you, you're consciously and choosing and proactively choosing a meaning that empowers your future.

And so you can see any situation, even a difficult one, as happening as a gift, right? It's happening for you, not to you. As when we think about for you, we're thinking about what we can learn from it. And we're seeing it as a way that we can grow. And every circumstance can be turned into a gift. And so when you use reframing, you're just constantly choosing the meaning that you're creating around something. So you talk about shaping our identity to overcome our self-doubt. What exactly do you mean by that? Well, whenever we put behind the words, I am, or the phrase I am is what we become more of.

And that I am is something I call a power phrase because it shapes our identity and who we are. And so it shapes really who we become and the legacy we create because what you think about yourself, you become. So therefore, you can train your mind also to level up the belief in yourself. And remember, I think what you already are inside you and just looking inside. And so, you know, and you think about what are the power phrases you want to say to yourself every day. One of the things you could ask yourself is, what do I need to believe about myself or my leadership or my ability to reach my goals and my vision? And some statements like this might be, you know, I am strong. I am powerful. I am powerful.

I'm confident. I'm making a difference in this world. And just remembering that you can change your own identity is really key in addressing that self-doubt. Cinder, do you have a final point for us? I do. I'd say high performers don't hope their thinking works for them. They make their thinking work for them. They engage in daily mental conditioning, and they're really intentional and powerful about their self-talks. They condition their

minds each day to help them really overcome their self-doubt, and that's what intentional thinking is. And until we get better at creating our own power phrases, you have one for us. I do. I like this one. I level up my thoughts to level up my life. And where do we get in touch with you or follow along for more of your work? Yeah, you can head over to Dr. Sindra, so D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A.com. I do this one minute video every other week. You can find there as well as information about my books, which addresses negativity and self-doubt, which we're talking about today. Way to go for finishing another episode of the High Performance Mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump.

Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, remember to subscribe and you can head over to Dr. Sindhra for show notes and to join my exclusive community for high performers where you get access to videos about mindset each week. So again, you can head over to Dr. Sindhra. That's D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A.com. See you next week.