Monday; September 14

Earlier in my life, when I reflected on the phrase “mind games” I typically thought about what other people were doing to me.  In my mind, these games were an attempt to influence me to get what they wanted.  As I have grown older, I am beginning to realize that the largest player of games in my mind is me.  I play many more games with myself than anyone else.  What I find interesting is that the games I play with myself are often set up to defeat me.  Often, they are construed in such a way that they are all but unwinnable.  I convince myself of the worst possible outcomes.  My inner voice talks enough trash that I lose hope.  I set goals so high that there is little reasonable hope of attaining them – and that translates as a loss.

As I thought about this the other day, I got to wondering why I don’t play mind games that are winnable.  I am the one who sets the ground rules, why not use the home field to my advantage?  By thinking about positive outcomes, giving (and receiving) pep talks and believing that I can win, not only will I be in a better position to be victorious, I will also tend to enjoy actually playing the game!  I am not talking about developing arrogance, I would be successful if I just gave myself the credit that I have a sporting chance.

Are we ready to improve our record in mind games?  The best way to do it is to stack the deck in our own personal favor.

Think About It!

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