Knock The Little Guy Off Your Shoulder

When Ernie Els won the British Open, he blew a three-shot lead with three holes to go to force a playoff with two other players. He said that as victory loomed on the horizon the voices of doubt returned. He heard the little guy on his shoulder say that he didn't really deserve to win. In the end, he fought off the doubts, stopped listening to the little guy and won the tournament on the fifth playoff hole. Later, he admitted to hiring a sports psychologist to deal with the overwhelming shadow that Tiger Woods cast over his sport. His mind had become filled with doubts and his performance had suffered dramatically over the previous year.

Imagine this. Golf is an individual sport. Tiger Woods cannot touch his club or interfere with his ball. However, the prospect of trying to beat Woods weighed on him so heavily that his performance suffered. Ernie Els is a very talented golfer. He won two majors while in his early twenties. Yet he allowed the thoughts of another player to interfere with his thinking and his performance.

For many people, the cascading stock market and the slow economy have become their personal Tiger Woods. The stock market cannot touch their sales presentations, their management meetings or their individual conversations with direct reports. Yet, they have allowed the economy and the bad business news to interfere with their thinking which has hurt their performance. This has led to the proverbial self-fulfilling prophecy of having a bad performance year.

Here's a suggestion: take the little guy on your shoulder who's whispering doubts in your ear and knock him out with three punches.

Punch #1: Make a list of all of your strengths. Ask other people what your strengths are and add those to your list. Review your list daily. Realize that your strengths are more than sufficient to overcome the economic challenges you are facing today.

Punch #2: Recall your past success stories. Mentally relive the times you achieved what others thought you could not achieve. Identify what obstacles you overcame, how you overcame them and why you were successful. List the lessons you learned from each experience. Then look at the challenges you are facing today and ask yourself how you can apply what worked for you in the past.

Punch #3: Visualize exactly what you want to achieve in the current situation and how you are going to achieve it. (Remember: don't give any time to the little guy on your shoulder who is trying to distract you from staying focused. Ignore the talk about how it will never work. Knock that little guy off and stomp on him.)

Your success is what you make it. It's not in the hands of the economy or the stock market. Right now knock the little guy out with three punches and get on with your day.

Republishing Articles

Each month my e-newsletter gets republished in approximately 20 blogs, on-line publications, and internal publications for businesses, universities, and not-for-profit organizations. If you would like to republish all or part of my monthly articles, please send me an e-mail at dan@thecoughlincompany.com with "Republishing Article" in the subject heading. I will send you the article in a word document. All I ask is that you include my name as the author of the article and a short paragraph at the end of the article about me with a link to my website.

Book Recommendation: It's Your Biz: The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss by Susan Solovic with Ellen Kadin

Recently I read a magnificent book for people who want to start their own business. The thing I like the most about, It’s Your Biz, is the absolute honesty with which it was written. It removes the glossiness and sexiness of owning your own business and breaks in down into reality. Click here to read Dan's review of the book.

Take care and have a great month!

Dan Coughlin

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