It’s a regular day, you’re feeling good about yourself, maybe you’ve put jeans on for the first time in 7 months, done your hair, shaved…whatever it is, you’re feeling yourself. Out of nowhere, that nasty voice only you can hear starts picking you apart, and wreaking havoc on your confidence. Who is this nasty piece of work? Well, I call her Susan.

Susan is the sucker of all things fun, the robber of confidence and a real Debbie downer! (Why is she named Susan and not Debbie? Well, I can’t call her Deb, that’s my M-I-L’s name, and she is actually quite lovely!)

Susan is a stealthy little thing, she starts small, maybe convincing me I shouldn’t wear my hair a certain way, no big deal. You’re eyebrows are starting to look a little lopsided lady…do you want to look like you are questioning everyone when you’re talking to them? I didn’t think so…fix that shit, it’s embarrassing! She also is the reason you will get random texts me apologizing for everything and anything.

The most damaging of all though, is how she can convince me I am not good enough. Maybe its around the progression of my lifts, or if I am actually gaining muscle. On very special occasions, she will even try to convince me I am not a good friend, and worse, failing at being a mom. I know…heavy stuff.

During times of high stress or overall fatigue, Susan really takes a hold. It’s in these moments, identifying those thoughts and taking back control of my self-talk really matters. Take a minute to feel it, and then tell Susan to shut the hell up!

Negative self-talk is so damaging, emotionally, mentally and physically. (See our post about the physical symptoms on our IG page @thecollectivewpg…end plug)

In all seriousness though, this is something you have control over. Only you decide how you feel about yourself, and quite frankly, other people’s opinions of you are none of your business. They only distract you from embracing your awesomeness, and can really kill your vibe.

If you are reading this, and your name is Susan…my sincere apologies. Susan is a lovely name, please feel free to name your inner-voice Gillian, maybe spell it with J, that really gets my goat. :)

Anyhoo, the point here is, you do not need to let that voice control you. Sometimes the things this voice says to you can even be used as motivation. Prove that voice in your head wrong!

You’re out for a run, and Susan tries to convince you to walk, use that as motivation to keep running! You’re in the middle of a heavy lift and Susan tells you to drop the weight because you’re not strong enough…push hard and prove that b!tch wrong!

Everyone at some point has feelings of self doubt. That’s ok, and totally normal, but remember this:

You are a good Mom/Dad/Step-parent

You are a good friend

You are stronger than you think

You got this.

It’s you vs you. Susan has no place here (again..my apologies to all the Susan’s out there, I am sure you are lovely people!)

With love,

-g