Your Inner Voice is an Asshole

Self doubt and insecurity are malarkey, and it’s your brain’s fault

Tim Pangburn
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

No one is immune to negative self talk. We all experience doubt, uncertainty, and insecurity. Whenever we have to step outside of our comfort zone, or we are confronted with a challenge, we begin to hear those little whispers in our ear saying things like “you can’t do this” or “you’re not good enough.”

Why is our inner voice discouraging us? One of the brain’s primary functions is to find danger and protect us. In the course of our human and evolutionary history, we were faced with life threatening perils every day. Whether it was confrontations with hostile clans or being eaten by giant prehistoric cats, there were very real and deadly consequences to poor choices.

That was tens of thousands of years ago, but our minds still try to identify threats. In a world where our lives are not constantly in danger, the focus has shifted to things that are not only physically dangerous, but also things the mind perceives as potential emotional dangers. 99.9% of the time, they pose no real threat. Our mind has created an imaginary scenario so we are ready to face trouble JUST IN CASE.

So that voice I was talking about…

This perceived threat that is no threat at all is personified by chatter in our mind. It’s how we replay scenarios and then possible outcomes, always focusing on the worst of the worst possibilities. Then, our brain gets to work on discouraging us from approaching that scenario.

That’s when we hear that negative talk. You can’t do it. It’s too difficult. You don’t deserve it. If the brain can stop us from ever approaching that scenario, then we will be spared the possible pain of a loss or failure. YAY BRAIN! You’ve done your job and kept us safe and secure.

BUT I CALL BULLSHIT!!

Most of the time, our fears and concerns about loss, failure, and humiliation are unfounded. We’ve constructed it all in the mind. Even if we do experience any of those things, they’re rarely as extreme as we had imagined.

Besides, we need those difficult experiences. We need to experience loss to appreciate what we have. We need to experience failure to reach success. And, dare I say it, we need to experience humiliation to find real strength in our self confidence.

Challenge and struggle strengthen the appreciation we have for all of the things in our lives. Whether it’s our job, our family, or ourselves, we have a deeper respect if it was earned with difficulty.

Now to tie up my loosely coherent rant

Insecurity creeps in all the time, and it takes conscious effort to combat it. It takes long term, consistent training of the mind to push away negative self talk. When you can undo the damage insecurity causes, you will find the doors to unlimited possibility are thrown open.

Your mind is not always on your side. True growth comes when you can cast aside the chatter in your head and move forward, understanding that what is capable of one is capable of all. You can achieve anything you set forth to do, no matter what. Just stop listening to self doubt.

    Tim Pangburn

    Written by

    Father, husband, artist. Constantly producing art, smashing goals, and taking names. Productivity, motivation, and sobriety.

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