As I was driving to a recent speaking engagement I knew it would happen.

It always does. It was just a matter of when.

About half way to my destination the voice in my head began his monologue just as I knew he would.

This was a new client. The make up of the audience was one that I find challenging.

“These people don’t want to hear you,” the voice said.

“You’ve never really bombed before. Maybe today is the day,” he exclaimed almost with a hint of glee.

“Get off at the next exit. It’s not too late to turn around and save your self from disaster,” he said. The voice wasn’t as loud as it was and he was losing steam.

Over the years I have come to recognize this self-destructive voice as he calls out to me. I used to listen to him with full attention.

As time goes on I am learning to tune him out.

There was a time when I listened to the voice as I would a favorite podcast.

Times are changing but it takes work.

The battle with my inner self and my inner dialogue is like a boxing match.

In the early rounds, during my younger years, the voice was in control. He’d get me against the ropes and pound me mercilessly. When the bell would sound I’d stagger back to my corner and wonder where I was. Then I’d come out for the next round only to have it repeat itself just like the last round.

I’d go back to my corner and exclaim to myself, “Why do I even bother?”

As I got older I’ve began to recognize the voice isn’t as tough or as strong as I made him out to be.

When the bell would ring I would go toe to toe with this once imposing figure and occasionally I would get in a jab or an upper cut and stagger this invisible opponent.

Recently, I’ve begun to recognize this once formidable foe as nothing more than an insignificant adversary.

When he begins to speak, as he did on my car ride last week, I am much quicker at being able to shut him down before he gets in too many punches.

I don’t have any idea how God works but I know he does. He seems to know when I need some encouragement to continue to fight this battle and he puts people or things in my path to keep me punching.

Since that recent speaking engagement three items have crossed my path that have raised my level of awareness of staying alert to fight the voice.

All three are similar in tone which tells me I’d better listen.

First was seeing a quote, which I have seen and heard before, that struck a chord with me.

“Are you playing to win, or, not to lose?”

 I must admit to really struggling with this. All too often I find myself playing it safe.

As a result of this quote I took some action on something that needed to be acted upon and the outcome was very positive in a way I hadn’t anticipated, more on that for another post.

The second item was a quote as well.

“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right!”

This quote was a knock out blow to the voice as I drove to my speaking engagement. It came to mind exactly when I needed it and my whole attitude changed for the remainder of my drive.

Sure, this is a new client and the audience is of a challenging make up but maybe they really need to hear what I have to say!

The third element was an article I read this morning, the day after Super Bowl LI about Tom Brady on the INC. Magazine Facebook page.

Brady has often credited his own success as well as the success of the team’s success to his and their mental toughness.

Brady recently posted on his Instagram account a quote from W. Timothy Gallwey’s book The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Side to the Mental Guide of Peak Performance.

Gallwey wrote, “Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game. The former is played against opponenets, and is filled with lots of contradictory advice; the latter is played within the mind of the player, and its principal obstacles are self-doubt and anxiety.”

If you didn’t see the Super Bowl, know that Brady’s team was down 28-3 in the third quarter. No team had ever come back from this large a deficit to win the Super Bowl.

Brady did what most fans thought was impossible. He led the Patriots to 31 unanswered points to win the game 34 – 28.

Most athletes, even professional ones, would have crumbled under such a seemingly insurmountable deficit.

Sure, Brady defeated the outer opponent, the Atlanta Falcons. In order to so, however, he had to defeat the inner opponent, self-doubt and anxiety.

Because Brady has such great awareness of the inner opponent he crushed the self-doubt and the anxiety and then was able to beat the Falcons and win Super Bowl.

The voice I so often hear is the inner opponent playing against me in the inner game.

I’m sure I have a losing record to the inner opponent over the course of my lifetime. On the plus side, however, I’m closing the gap courageously every day.

It takes courage to go face to face against the inner opponent. Do you have the courage to strap on the gloves and exchange punches with your invisible foe?

As I was packing up my computer after the speaking engagement I looked up and there was a small line of people that wanted to talk with me about what they had heard and how it had impacted them.

I had not expected that from this group.

Score that round for courage!

Exodus 14:13

Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!