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Jocko Willink spent 20 years in the US Navy and commanded the most highly decorated special operations unit in the Iraq War, SEAL Team 3’s task unit Bruiser. When he was asked about ways of shutting down internal doubt and negative chatter during critical moments, he replied “Internal doubt is not necessarily a bad thing, because it is a form of humility.” He then continued that this humility is a good thing, as it keeps you up at night preparing, and becoming better.
According to him, that little voice that is whispering, “practice again”, is something that can be very valuable, as it prevents you from feeling completely satisfied until you do everything that you can to be ready. Jocko than says that he sees that as a normal thing, because it will most definitely become silent when you prepare correctly, which builds a sense of confidence formed after countless trials and errors.
When talking about dealing with negative influences from other people, he recommends the way of detaching and taking a step back. He says that you should observe those emotions, those negative thoughts, and objectively deal with them. You should then imagine the worst-case scenario, and try to prepare for that.
If things that you cannot control are bothering you, you should intentionally try to accept that there are things that are out of your control. Instead, you should invest that energy into things that you have control over. If you are not getting what you want after doing everything that you can, you should learn from your previous attempts and try to improve.
When you see that a person who seems very confident and that accepts that he has those internal self-doubts, it makes you realize that you are not that far from the mastery of your own craft. The real difference is have you react to those internal self-doubts. The amateurs let those negative thoughts shut down their aspirations and their attempts to achieve their goals. The top performers use these little whisperings to their own advantage.
