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Stuck in Your Own Head?

By Carrie Jackson

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Stuck in Your Own Head? Here’s How to Fix It

By Carrie Jackson, CMPC
https://carriejackson.com/

Your body might be race-ready—but if your mind is working against you, you’ll never perform at your best.

I once worked with an athlete who was physically strong, incredibly disciplined, and following his training plan to the letter. On paper, he was absolutely capable of accomplishing his goals, but as race day approached, his mind turned into his biggest obstacle. 

  • What if I can’t PR?
  • I don’t want to let my team down.
  • This feels harder than it should.
  • I’m falling apart already.
  • What if all this effort is for nothing?

No matter how much he trained, self-doubt crept in and took control. He was putting a tremendous amount of pressure on himself and it showed in his performance. 

Sound familiar?

I hope it doesn’t, but if it does—you’re not alone. You can be the most optimally trained athlete in the world, but if your fears and doubts speak louder than your desires and confidence, you will never know what you’re truly capable of. If you’re only focusing on training physically, you are missing half of the equation.

The Two Voices in Your Head

Every athlete has two voices inside:

  • The Athlete—confident, focused, calm under pressure.
  • The Monster—full of fear, doubt, and negative self-talk.

The Monster says things like:
>> “Why can’t you figure this out?”
>> “You’re going to blow it.”
>> “You’re not good enough.”

The Athlete? That’s the voice that encourages you, trusts your training, and helps you stay composed when it counts most. That’s the voice that believes in you.

Whichever voice you feed is the one that grows stronger. And for many athletes, they’ve been feeding the Monster for years—without realizing it. Your brain is listening to you when you think and when you speak. Athletes are often letting their self-talk run rampant without thinking about the cost.

The reason you tend to focus on all the things that can go wrong and all the ways you feel like you’re failing or falling short is because your brain has a built-in negativity bias. You pay more attention to negative feelings and negative events because the primal part of your brain is wired to protect you. 

But the good news is, your brain also has neuroplasticity, which means your brain can reorganize and create new neural connections. You can get good at feeding the Athlete, you just need to know how.

3R Recovery Formula

Here’s one simple mental shift that can help when you’re gorging the monster and ruminating on everything that could go wrong. When you make a mistake, when you encounter a setback, when life throws you an unexpected challenge– you need to recite the 3 R’s.

The three R’s help you to stay resilient and stay on course. There are SO MANY examples of athlete’s pulling out INCREDIBLE performances after a major setback. It’s your MINDSET that makes the difference of whether you win or lose right there in that moment. 

The 3R Recovery Formula ensures you’re only temporarily derailed:

  1. Regroup: Get it together– Take a beat, shake it off, pull yourself back together. 
  2. Reset: Get focused– Take a breath, get grounded. 
  3. Recommit: Get after it– Remind yourself of your mission, vision, and goal.

 

Don’t let the setback stop your momentum by indulging the Monster. Say to yourself, “That didn’t go how I wanted. What do I want to do next?”

This isn’t fluffy positive thinking—it’s performance thinking. It’s the same kind of focus elite athletes train intentionally.

Train Your Mind Like You Train Your Body

At first, this mental shift may feel awkward or forced. That’s okay. You don’t master intervals or pacing overnight either. Mental training is no different—it takes reps.

But with practice, you’ll start to feel more confident, more focused, and more in control. You’ll stop sabotaging yourself and start racing with trust, composure, and joy.

Your mind is your greatest performance tool—don’t leave it untrained.

If you’re ready to start building a race-day mindset that supports your best performance, check out the Free 4-Week Race Day Mindset Plan. It’s designed to help you strengthen the mental side of your sport—one focused week at a time.