The Truth About How To Stop Psyching Yourself Out

Do you ever get stuck in your own head when you are faced with a challenge or an obstacle that feels like it could have a major impact on your life? It’s almost as if you can only have negative thoughts and focus on all the terrible things that could go wrong. A little anxiety is normal in stressful situations, but wouldn’t it be nice to know how to stop psyching yourself out?

Imagine not having a knot in the pit of your stomach every time you go to do something important that could have a potentially major impact on your life in a serious way. What would it feel like to let positive thoughts take over your survival instincts?

We all have a critical inner voice that wants to remind us of how bad things can really get. But it is possible to silence that critic! You have the power to make a major impact on the way you take on challenges!

Embracing challenges in order to find growth opportunities is something that we write about often at Joyful Through It All. We believe this is is an effective way to live the life you want to live, full of big goals and dream chasing.

Let’s get into the simple truth about how to stop psyching yourself out so that you can stop worrying about worst-case scenarios.

What is Psyching Yourself Out?

First of all, what is psyching yourself out? This is what happens when you intimidate yourself and take away your own belief that you can do anything you put your mind to.

Often, this leads us to sabotaging our own efforts. The things that we fear happening end up happening because of our shaken confidence.

If you are the type of person who psychs themselves out over stressful situations, don’t worry! It is a very common thing to build up major events in your mind and blow them out of proportion.

Whether it is writing big exams, public speaking, or having a vulnerable conversation in your intimate relationships, we are all human beings and we all experience nerves.

The Truth Behind How to Stop Psyching Yourself Out

In fact, psyching yourself out in a stressful situation is really just your survival instincts kicking in and warning you that there could be a threat near by.

Our brains love worst-case scenarios. They like to dream up negative images of all the horrible things that could happen. And they do this so that they can prepare us for the possibility that they might happen.

This can be helpful in some cases, but if we listen too closely, it can be harmful. Especially if you forget to consider the possible ways things could go right!

The truth is, a positive attitude is all that you need to understand how to stop psyching yourself out. Imagine daydreaming about a scenario where you come out as a major winner instead of worrying about a poor performance.

Rather than all the negative self-talk, give yourself a few pep talks where you separate the worst from the best.

It is okay to spend a little time evaluating worst-case scenarios. But don’t dwell on them, because there is more that your brain isn’t telling you!

Get Comfortable Outside Your Comfort Zone

When you psych yourself out and lose confidence in yourself, where is the first place you go?

Your brain has just told you that there is a threat, so it is natural to retreat back to your comfort zone and whatever that looks like for you.

One of the key features of psych-yourself-out feelings is a fear of failure. If you are nervous about an exciting event, you probably spend the bulk of your time worrying about what might happen if you fail. Our minds build up the event like this so that we can imagine the pain of failing and better prepare ourselves for it.

The trick to understanding how to stop psyching yourself out is simple: Feel the fear. It is your body’s natural response to tell you something exciting is about to happen. But, instead of running to the safety of your comfort zone, lean into the discomfort!

Easier said than done though, right? How can you get comfortable being uncomfortable?

The secret here is in a very powerful tool called a growth mindset. A growth mindset believes that there are opportunities for growth in any obstacle, struggle, or failure.

Yes, you might fail, and that is probably why you are psyching yourself out. But, when you have a growth mindset, you will see failure as feedback to help you grow. A growth mindset truly is the best mindset to help you learn how to stop psyching yourself out.

So, when you step outside your comfort zone and fall flat on your face, that’s okay! This is one of the best ways to learn how you can do better next time!

One of the best quotes about fear comes from Jon Gordon who says: “Speak truth to the lies today. Fear is a tool used by the enemy to hold you back from the greatness that is inside you. It’s okay to feel fear, we all do. You just can’t let it stop you. Move forward anyways.”

You may want to try using confidence affirmations to help when you are stepping outside of your comfort zone!

The Choice

Each time you are faced with a major event, remember that you have a choice:

  • You can choose to listen to the negative thoughts and negative self-talk and psych yourself out.
  • Or you can choose to see each positive or negative experience that you have as a learning experience.

If you choose to listen to your negative thoughts, you will be robbing yourself of your confidence and the opportunity to prove yourself.

So instead, choose a positive attitude that gives power to your positive thoughts. Taking this approach will help you recognize the risks, but understand that they are positive risks. In each and every challenge you face there is an opportunity to find growth and improve yourself for future challenges and obstacles.

So instead of listening to your mind’s default setting about all the terrible things that could go wrong, use what you have learned about how to stop psyching yourself out.

If you need some motivation to believe just how awesome you are, check out our list of you are amazing quotes! These will be sure to build you up when you need it most!

There is a more effective way to tackle challenges. All it takes is changing the story you tell yourself.

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family on social media! If you know someone who has a habit of psyching themselves out, this blog post could be just what they need to make a major change!


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