Don't Let the Old Man In

You might or might not be an athlete anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from the world of sports psychology.

Bill Beswick once said, “Sports psychology is letting the positive you defeat the negative you.” Beswick’s insight is important for athletes, but it’s also essential for you because we are all drowning in our self-talk. Dr. Michael Gervais estimates that we talk to ourselves internally at a rate of approximately 4,000 words per minute.

I know that inner dialogue, that inner battle of the voice within you. It says:

• “You’re too tired.”

• “You’re not good enough.”

• “You aren’t ready.”

However, there is another voice as well. The one that pushes you forward:

• “You’ve got this.”

• “Give it another shot.”

• “Keep working, you will get there.”

See, we have two voices in our heads. We have a positive voice and a negative voice. However, most people don’t take their mental work as seriously as their technical work. Training your mind is as important as training your skills.

Actor Clint Eastwood captured his technique for doing this so well. When asked by Toby Keith how he stayed positive and kept working with such energy later in life, he said, “I wake up every morning and I don’t let the old man in.”

See, he wasn’t only talking about his age. He was discussing his approach to maintaining a positive mindset. He was speaking of keeping the negative version of himself, the part that wanted to quit, to slow down, to settle, so the other version could win.

It’s your job, just for today, to give positivity an upper hand by refusing to let the old man in.

So when those inner negative thoughts start, say to yourself. “Not you, not today, old man. I am not letting the old man in.”

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