MENTAL BATTLE

Winning the Mental Battle

We are a Marvel movie family and recently we watched the second movie in the Venom series.  You may think I am crazy that I am writing something about this movie and tying it to leadership in some way.  Stick with me for a minute.

For those of you not familiar with the movie the quick summary is that an amoeba alien has become symbiotically attached to the main character. During the movie Eddie constantly seems like he is talking to himself.  In reality he has an ongoing conversation with Venom.  After watching I thought about how each of us has a Venom inside our heads.

We all talk to ourselves, but how can we manage that conversation like Eddie had to manage his conversations with Venom?

Hear Venom

Let me reassure you.  You are not crazy.  We all talk to ourselves.  At times we are too busy to hear the voice or we try to avoid it because it drives us crazy.  The voice in our head may serve us well . . . or not, but we will get to that in a moment.

During this movie there is a scene where Venom tells Eddie to look in a jail cell right before he is about to leave.  In that cell are clues to what is going on in the movie.  This is when the voice serves us well.  We get this hunch to go somewhere, have a conversation with someone, do something, or any of something else.  We act even though it makes no sense and something good happens or something bad is prevented.  Take time to listen to the voice, but then go to the next step.

Test Venom

In the first movie Eddie had no clue what was going on and didn’t know if this voice was trustworthy.  Similarly, we need to test the thoughts coming to our mind.  My favorite book talks about “taking every thought captive.”  When you hear the thought pause enough to evaluate if this thought is true and will it serve you well.

Decide if you Should Agree with Venom

We have heard the thought and tested the thought and now we need to decide what to do with the thought.  Here are a few options:

  1. Ignore the thought because it does not serve us and replace it with a thought that does serve us well.
  2. Think on the thought to determine if we should continue to think into and act on it later.
  3. Act on the thought if it serves us or could potentially serve us without major negative impact.

We all have a voice in our head.  Accept that as a reality and even give it a name so, when necessary, it can be confronted directly.  Our thoughts do not have to control us.  Consider what we dwell on and focus on what is true, right, and serves us well to help us reach our vision.

Where in this process do you get stuck?  Need help breaking through these limiting beliefs?  Contact me for a no cost to you thirty-minute coaching session to help you think into your self-leadership.  Sometimes the voice gets so loud we need someone else to help us test and decide.  You are fighting the same fight everyone is.  Remember you choose what you focus on.  Focus on what is true and lead well.

© 2022 Wheeler Coaching Systems, All Rights Reserved

Posted by Randy Wheeler in Lead Yourself