Wooly mammoths and negative self-talk

"I bet I'm not strong enough to spear that woolly mammoth"

"I wish my ability to create fire was more consistent"

"I just know everyone's going to judge my new hand-axe"

When do you think negative self-talk actually began?

So many people I coach have such sophisticated negative self-talk that I am still shocked when they share it with me.

It's a cruel, internal voice which says things they would never say to a friend.

And there are different flavors, too: some with a sprinkle of self-doubt, others with handful of self-sabotage, or a frisson of self-loathing.

For our Neolithic ancestoral buddies, I'm sure there was an evolutionary advantage to remembering mistakes and being hyper-vigilant about perceived dangers.

I'd imagine they were far less likely to make a mistake a second time if they judged themselves negatively afterwards.

But here we are many hundreds of years later and the advantage isn't advantage-ing in the same way.

Here are some responses to quell that (angry) voice you might have in your head when under pressure:

💭 Hey, thanks for your input! I'm actually going to give this thing a try because I've practiced and feel like it's a good challenge for me.

💭 Oh it's you again! You're right, this is scary and there are risks. But I've thought about it a lot and want to go for that new job.

With practice, you'll start feeling the voice dissipate a little and give you space to go do the damn thing.