Episode 47: It's You VS. You

Did you think anyone else had something to do with it?

A couple weeks ago, my family and I went to the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament in Indian Wells, California. It was my first time being at this annual tournament which is surprising considering how much I love tennis and what an easy drive it is from Los Angeles. As we watched these professional tennis players, I marveled at the level of their skill. There they were right in front of me—my version of celebrities! But the thing that resonated with me the most—and reminded me they are human and just like us—was their ability to let self-doubt to creep in and ruin everything.

You can watch a player be up a set and then unravel in the second set. In contrast, you can watch someone play terribly (for them) in the first set and then switch gears only to come back and win the next two sets and the whole match. Cheers ensue and everyone is astonished on how they were able to fight back and win.

So much of competition is the mental part. So much of our successes and goals realized is the mental part. So much of what stands in the way of succeeding, or not, is the mental part.

I was listening to The Tennis IQ Podcast where they were interviewing a goal achievement coach, Dr. Cathy Utzschneider, and she said something that stuck with me:

It’s You versus You.

Wow. That phrase resonates with me so much. The last few years have been some of the hardest for me both personally and professionally. And, I think back to the ways that I often let myself sink when I was down in the last few years.

I also think about how I have approached this year differently because I was tired of believing that outside forces were (seemingly) be in charge. This is the year I said to myself,

“Joy, YOU are in charge of what happens next.”

Self-doubt is a crazy thing. No matter how much confidence we have at times, the ebbs and flows of life allow self-doubt to come in and out. It’s natural and human. But, personally, I’m tired of “You VS. You”. I am now working on being in the “ME for ME” phase of life and trying not to let myself get in my own way.

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