What Stories Are You Telling Yourself?

We all have a Yadda Yadda radio playing in our heads.

Our negative voices that are the source of most of our fears and anxieties. These voices tell you that, “you’re not smart,  you’re stupid, not capable, or you should know better.”

These voices were planted by others in your past who had their own insecurities. They hold you back from being bold, taking more risks, asking for what you want, or simply believing that you can make changes in your life.

It can be hard defining who’s doing the talking until you consider its source. You may be hearing your parents, teachers, well-meaning friends, or bosses who thought they knew what was good for you.

Your mind acts as a trickster convincing you that things are real when it’s your imagination on overdrive. We fear the worst, and we create drama in our lives to match our feelings. This justifies our behavior, quantifies our circumstances, and supports our buying into the stories we tell ourselves.

Can you recognize some of these feelings?

• Frantic impatience
• Utter exhaustion
• Misunderstood
• Emotional paralysis
• Shame
• Defeat
• Spinning out of control
• Confused
• Overwhelmed
• Victimized

These symptoms are frequently the result of fearful thinking.

We are invested in staying in stuck places.

We get attention when we complain, or when we feel that circumstances are working against us.

It gives us an excuse to give in, give up, or simply put up with whatever it is that’s not working for us.

If you never take risks or fail to get what you want - you can always blame it on circumstances.

When you no longer see the benefits of remaining in your stuck, noisy place, you are ready to begin an adventure of discovering other choices and other outcomes.

Next time you hear a negative voice in your head when making a choice, question its source. Ask yourself who is doing the talking. If you can name it, you can change it. Decline the invitation to complain. Decline the invitation to blame. Decline the temptation to just give in, or give up.

Choice is an option. When you don’t choose, you are making a choice.

I’ve had a lifetime of challenging my negative voices - more times than I care to remember. When I had enough, I changed my Yadda Yadda radio station to something more positive.

We all know there are no guarantees in life, except one. Things change, so you might as well change them for the better.

My credo has always been learn, grow and achieve. If we are not growing, we are dying. Feed yourself the right ingredients for success so you can grow healthy and strong!

Pay attention to your negative voices. Choose to take another approach. Choose positivity and strengthen your ability to trust yourself. Embrace change and see what happens.

“Being fearless is not the absence of fear, but the choices and decisions we make when fear shows up in our life.” – Jacqueline Wales, The Fearless Factor

Jacqueline Wales is the author of two best-selling books When The Crow Sings and The Fearless Factor. Her latest book The Fearless Factor @ Work will be published in July 2020. You can download a free copy of The Fearless Factor at her website

 [MR1]Is it fearful thinking?