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Self-talk refers to your “inner voice”—the way you talk to yourself.

To rewire it:

1. Take stock of what your self-talk contains
2. Rephrase negative self-talk into positive ones
3. “Install” the new, positive self-talk with affirmations and visualizations

Self-doubt leads to a lot of self-sabotage, such as:

• Fear of getting started
• Analysis paralysis
• Fear of failure

After trying many things in the past 8 years, these 3 solutions stood out:

1. Rewire your self-talk
2. Focus on what you can control

• Use positive, empowering frames
• Focus on what you can do about the situation, not outcomes

Personal examples:

• “I’m the most inexperienced person here.” → “I’m a go-getter; what I lack in experience, I make up for it using effort and persistence.”

Despite using affirmations and visualizations daily, my crippling self-doubt returned in tsunami waves whenever I faced a setback.

This was because I was deriving my self-worth from things I couldn’t control.

In general, you cannot control:

• The past
• Other people