Acting Confidently Overrides Doubt by Managing Internal Voices

Key Quotes

"You get to choose how you behave. To heck with your thinking. Let's say your thinking is what it is and it's riddled with doubt. It, you're ravaged with doubt. You still get to choose how you behave. Um, and you can, you can act like you got what it takes. You can't. You can do it."

Price Pritchett argues that behavior is a choice independent of one's internal thoughts or feelings. Pritchett suggests that even when overwhelmed by doubt, individuals can consciously decide to act as if they possess the necessary capabilities. This highlights the power of outward action to shape perceived competence, regardless of internal mental states.

"Manage your remembering. What does that mean? Your memory of painful moments. Yeah. What, what you go back and what you dwell on. Um, when you go back over the years, I mean, I can go back and just like that, I can think something and I can, I can pull up again and again and again, all these times that I've been embarrassed, I've been humiliated, I've failed, dropped the ball, you know, anger. Dwell on that if I want to. But I can also go back and the times that I pulled it off."

Price Pritchett explains that individuals have control over which memories they choose to focus on. Pritchett points out that one can actively select to recall past successes and positive experiences rather than dwelling on failures or embarrassing moments. This selective recollection is presented as a tool for managing one's internal narrative.

"We have some 50,000 thoughts a day. I don't know if that's right. But, you know, that, let's just say that's the realm that we have some 50,000 thoughts a day. Um, this kind of takes us into this whole conversation, which I think is an interesting thing to kick around, which is this whole thing about optimism versus pessimism."

Price Pritchett introduces the concept of the sheer volume of daily thoughts, suggesting that a significant mental landscape exists within individuals. Pritchett uses this observation to transition into a discussion about the broader themes of optimism and pessimism. This framing emphasizes the potential impact of managing this constant stream of thought.

"And the studies are unequivocal. It's less negative thinking. Now, you, the the thing that gets us tangled up is that I guess pretty much all of us think of it as, okay, you've got this linear scale here, you know, and we'll say at the high end, the good end is optimism and at the low end is pessimism, negative thinking. Well, studies show that they're actually two different scales."

Price Pritchett highlights research findings that indicate reducing negative thinking is more impactful than increasing positive thinking. Pritchett clarifies that optimism and pessimism are not simply opposite ends of a single spectrum, but rather distinct dimensions. This distinction is presented as a key insight for understanding how to achieve greater psychological benefit.

"About 70% of our negative thinking goes unperceived by us. It's so embedded in our day-to-day behavior. We're not even aware of it."

Price Pritchett points out that a significant portion of negative thought patterns operate below conscious awareness. Pritchett explains that this lack of awareness is due to how deeply ingrained these thoughts are in daily actions. This observation underscores the difficulty and importance of identifying and addressing subconscious negative thinking.