10 inner voice lessons: master your fear of failure and harness your power story

Many of us will facing our summer holidays with concerns about the state of the economy, the world, and even our personal wellbeing.

"This year, more than any time I can recall, we are subject to an epidemic of mental, spiritual and emotional fatigue," says Dr. Jim Loehr, whose latest book is The Power of Story: Change Your Story, Change Your Destiny in Business and Life.

"If ever there were a time for people to increase their ability to manage their inner conversations and overall wellness – this is it." He adds, “The ability to see clearly in the storm is neither inherited nor something that necessarily develops with age. It comes from repetition and practice, much like strength develops from workouts at the gym.”

Dr. Loehr is a performance psychologist who has spent an entire career helping high performing athletes, military Special Forces, medical professionals, business people, and organizations master the fear of failure and harness their "inner voices" in service of their goals and missions.

As I was using Dr. Loehr’s book as a reference for Stinson Brand Innovation’s N-of-8^® story development tool, I wanted to share his insights to help you take control of your inner voice during turbulent times.


TEN INNER VOICE LESSONS

1. Take Control of Your Inner Discord. This sets the stage for the next steps. Consciously turn to an activity that engages and absorbs you completely. Continue it until you can talk with yourself calmly.
2. Summon the Voice of Your Conscience. Ask yourself questions like, “Is this (the stress-producing activity or thought) really something I should be spending my mental energy, time, money or other resources on?”
3. Summon Your Voice of Reason and Wisdom. Listen to the disturbing inner chatter and then write down the facts—just the facts—of what is happening. Then write a brief story—beginning, middle, end—around those facts, using your best wisdom and perspective.
4. Summon Your Voice of Support and Encouragement. Whatever tone of voice you would use with people you care about the most, use that same tone with yourself.
5. Summon Your Voice of Toughness. Without access to the voice of toughness, many of us are too easily pressured by the world. Listening to this voice will help you to “hang tough” in an environment where we're surrounded by catastrophizing.
6. Summon Your “I Don’t Buy It” Voice. When there is negative or nervous talk around you, maintain a healthy inner skeptic; distance yourself from negative group-think.
7. Suspend Your “I Don’t Buy It” Voice. When you feel positive energy from the groups around you, sign on.
8. Summon Your Voice of Compassion. Every time you stimulate feelings of compassion within yourself, you increase this capacity. It is a practice that has as many benefits for you as it does for the recipient of your compassion.
9. Summon Your Voice of Sincerity. This voice gains volume when you listen to and acknowledge your deepest private voice, and then find an appropriate and honorable way of using that voice when speaking publicly to others.
10. Summon Your Voice of Intuition. Intuition doesn’t follow the standard pathways of conscious logic and reason. Training this voice, listening to and respecting this voice, can pay enormous dividends in just about every avenue of life.

4 signs of negative indoctrination and blocks to innovation

“I know I’m right and I’m not going to allow any contrary discussions about it.”

Ever hear a team leader express that thought – explicitly or implicitly? Have YOU ever expressed it? Felt it? And when it’s expressed, what message is the listener getting? Probably this, “Adopt our thinking without question or get off the team.”

Back on June 26, I blogged about the often-used phrase “Drink the Kool-Aid,” which means to buy the company line or to enthusiastically perform a task without knowing how it may affect you.

While the phrase is used so much in jest, let’s not forget how it can stifle creativity and innovation. Or worse, how it can be a sign of a real leadership problem.

The Power of Story author Jim Loehr writes to watch for these signs of negative indoctrination:

1. Increasing intolerance for beliefs and values that don’t absolutely align with yours;
2. Increasing rigidity and inflexibility in thinking and action;
3. Increasing use of fear and threat of retribution if what you say is not acted on or taken seriously; and
4. Increasing inability to see value in opposing points of view.

Learn more about Jim’s book on the Stinson Brand Innovation reference library page.

The examples above can just as easily by applied, of course, to life outside the boardroom and workplace. Fanatical thought and coercive behavior have no place as we seek to expand our creative lives – in the classroom, the office, the chapel, the lab, or the home.