Even the MOST successful people have intrusive thoughts.
Yes, influencers on Instagram who share their flawless-looking morning routines five times a week.
Yes, Fortune 500 CEOs.
Yes, the author who just hit the NYT bestseller list for a third time.
The difference between them and those who don’t achieve their goals? They’ve learned to manage their intrusive thoughts.
The bad news is we can’t make them disappear for good. The good news is you can start noticing them and putting them to the test.
Listen in to hear the system that you can use to make sure your thoughts aren’t working against you.
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Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[02:15] It is easy to assume that because a thought is in our head, it must be a fact, but often our brains are just trying to protect us from perceived “danger,” like the fear of failing at a new career.
[03:45] I have found that once you start looking at your thoughts as data points rather than absolute truths, you gain the power to decide which ones to actually act on.
[05:12] One of the biggest mistakes is thinking you need to feel confident before you take action. Confidence is actually a result of taking action despite the fear.
[09:45] Once you have written down a negative thought, ask yourself, “Is this 100% true, or is there another possibility?”. Often, you’ll find the “danger” is just your brain overreacting to a new situation.
[11:20] One of the biggest mistakes is thinking you need to feel confident before you take action. Confidence is actually a result of taking action despite the fear.
[11:33] I recommend starting a practice of tracking these thoughts; when you feel a sense of resistance or anxiety, stop and literally write down the specific sentence that is running through your mind.
[15:40] Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, start intentionally looking for evidence of what is going right, no matter how small the win is.
[16:26] Vast majority of our thoughts, they are not literal facts. They are opinions, our brains opinions or they are interpretations of situations. And facts and interpretations are two very different things.
[18:22] If your brain says, “What if they say no to my pitch?”, ask yourself “So what?”. Usually, the worst-case scenario is just a “no,” which is not a life-threatening event.
[21:05] The fastest way to disprove a limiting belief is to do the thing your brain is telling you that you can’t do.
[27:10] We often find that students are afraid of the feeling of failure more than the actual outcome, so I recommend practice getting comfortable with discomfort.
[30:05] When you catch yourself saying “I don’t know how to do this,” I want you to immediately add the word “yet” to the end of that sentence to open up the possibility for growth.
[40:15] When a thought feels overwhelming, break your next professional step into a task so small it feels impossible to fail at, which helps bypass the brain’s “danger” signal.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“This part of your brain does not, does not care about happiness. It cares solely about safety in the moment.” – Nicki
“There’s a constant parade of messaging coming through and so if we can take a moment to just pause and listen… even starting to make that a regular habit will have such an impact on your life.” – Nicki
“Come with questions if you have questions, but I, and we can help you reframe some experiments.” – Kate
“Nobody out there is doing this perfectly… No matter what level of success they have attained, they are having some thoughts that are getting in their way.” – Nicki
Mentioned in the Episode
- Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art
- The Sneaky Distractions That Will Block Your Copywriting Career Progress
- Create Your Own Professional Development Goals
- Ep. 199: #1 Thing Getting in Your Way of Copywriting (and Other!) Success
Related Links
- Why Setbacks and “Failures” Don’t Mean What You Think They Do
- BONUS – Laser Coaching: A Copywriter’s Guide to Creative Thinking
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
