Hey Reader,
There’s a space between what you think and what you do.
Most people feel stuck in their heads because they haven’t developed self-awareness that decides what to do with the thoughts inside their minds.
So they tend to react and overthink.
In today’s issue, we’ll uncover the tricky space between your thoughts and what you do with them.
💭 I yielded too…
In 2012, I went from being overweight to running my first marathon.
Two months after a trail marathon in Leadville, my number got drawn for the 100-mile race.
The ambitious part of me said, “Fuck it. Let’s give it a go.”
I trained hard, and I felt ready.
The race day came, and at mile 56, I rolled my ankle coming down a climb.
Pain shot through me, and my thoughts lit up with excuses:
“You shouldn’t even be here.”
“You’ve already done enough.”
“It’s okay to stop.”
And to make myself feel even better, heroic even, I could argue that I rolled my ankle at about mile 56 coming down the big climb.
Then I proceeded to run with a bummed ankle for another 30 miles.
But that’s not the true story.
I yielded to my tricky thoughts.
By the Powerline climb, I slowed. I knew missing the next cutoff meant quitting.
And I did. I quit.
The pain faded eventually, but the regret lingered for years. I realized the real damage wasn’t the rolled ankle, it was letting the voice in my head control the outcome.
Three years later, I went back and completed the race.
That day, I understood that the space between thought and action is where greatness lives.
🧠 Your thoughts aren’t you
Our brain doesn’t take a break.
Doubt, fear, insecurity, and existential questions come at the worst moments.
Sometimes it shows up as hesitation right before you have to take on something you’ve planned for so long.
Sometimes, it comes as dark reminders about your past mistakes, failures, and actions you regret.
It can tell you, “Maybe you can’t pull this off." “You shouldn’t even be here.” “You’re not ready.” “You failed before, so why try again?” “You’ll fail.”
It’s a creepy thought that wants you to give up, to quit, to hold you back from fulfilling potential.
You suddenly start overthinking things and trying to control circumstances clearly beyond our control.
Gradually, we start believing, behaving, and becoming what these tricky thoughts fill our heads with.
It can control our actions in the form of self-doubt, impostor syndrome, perceived underperformance, disbelief… until we find ourselves burying our bold visions in doubts and fear of the unknown.
Because we yielded to the saboteur voice.
And in that moment, we gave up on some of our dreams.
❤️ Respond, don’t react
These thoughts never completely go away.
Even the most disciplined, high-performing minds carry them.
The problem isn’t having them.
It’s letting these thoughts define you.
They’re just thoughts.
When you focus on the outcome you want to create and not the heat of a moment, you’re able to let this voice fade on its own.
You become reconnected to the awareness of who you are and where you want to be.
It gives you freedom.
It opens your heart to see which thoughts matter and which don’t.
You become more aware that you’re human and humans fail.
Humans make mistakes.
Humans get tired.
So you’re not falling for that bullshit of giving up because it got hard.
You’re not controlled by the noise inside your head.
You’re in charge of yourself, your life, business, and results, whatever they may be.
Taking one best foot forward day after day.
Left foot, right foot.
Living and embracing the lessons, the mess, and the beauty in every moment.
🤲 How to respond more and react less
I get it.
These things sound easier said than done.
How can you get over the noise in your head when it says all the logical things most of the time?
I’ve struggled with that too.
Here are 4 ways that helped me (and can help you too):
- Relate with these thoughts: The worst way to get rid of fear is by trying to get rid of fear. Don’t try to suppress it. Ask yourself: “Does this thought support my identity, values, and goals?” “Is it worth pursuing, or letting go?” Let your honest answers guide you forward.
- Be deeply aware of yourself. What are your beliefs, triggers, motives, strengths, mantras, non-negotiables…? Being deeply aware of these things makes you unfuckwithable. No dark thoughts, failure, or curveball can break someone who’s deeply and confidently aware of who they are.
- Master the building blocks of confidence. Join tough challenges that help you build your confidence. There are a couple you can do. For me, I did the #75hard challenge. It ingrained the habits of mental toughness in me and boosted my confidence. You can also join a mastermind, a community, or a tribe of people who are unashamedly confident in pursuing their purpose.
🎯 Who’s really in charge?
What would it look like if you treated every fear, or every dark thought, as just mere thoughts?
Will you let the thoughts define you or nah?
Every choice you make defines the life you live.
Don’t let mere thoughts script your life for you.
As Viktor Frankl once said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
You’ve got this.
With appreciation,
Huw
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Huw Edwards
Founder & CEO, h3.xyz
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