Hi, everyone, It's Carl Taylor here and welcome to Mojo Monday on the Paul Taylor Podcast. So this week we are diving into a topic that I have spoken about, I think a few times before, but it's a topic that you can't just listen to once. And I know that this episode is going to resonate with most of you. So we're going to talk about the gremlin in your head. So this concept is not new. This inner voice has been the subject of Eastern religion, stoic philosophy, personal development and mastery experts, and now modern science. There's a lot of research behind it now. But for me personally, my gremlin often shows up as that voice that says you don't belong or it will assume that that person won't want to talk to you. And it's the same voice that tells me I'm not good enough to do the things that I really want to do, the things that are important to me. And sometimes I can get so entangled up in this voice that it's exhausting. It's like trying to untangle a spider web. And the more we try, the more sticky and stuck that we get. And I have learned and I am still learning, and I will continue to learn that if I give that voice my attention, it's like handing at the reins to my life. I become trapped in my head. I feel small, and I can feel worthless. But what I have learned is that I can't let the gretlin dictate how I live. So today we'll explore how to recognize that voice, practice accepting it without giving it power, and turn to our inner sage, that wiser, calmer part of ourselves to guide us. So how do we recognize when the Gremlin's in control? So eckhark Toli, who I'm sure most of you will be familiar with, he wrote a book called The Power of Now. He describes this voice in that book as a tormentor that drains us of energy and keeps us locked in this repetitive, negative thought pattern. He calls it the thinker, and one of the first steps to liberation is to simply notice it. So let's break that down. There's the thought or the gremlin or the tormentor or whatever you want to call it, and then there's you, and you are the noticer of those thoughts. So stop now, just try this, stop now, and just notice your thoughts and maybe you're just noticing that you're thinking about thinking, and so you can just notice that and echo. Tolly writes, listen to the voice in your head. Do not judge or condemn what you hear, for doing so would mean the same voice has come in again through the back door. And I just think this is so powerful because when we judge or fight that in a critic, when we fight our gremlin, we're actually feeding it more. Attention loves attention. It thrives on us trying to resist it. So the key is to watch the gremlin, notice the gremlin, acknowledge it without judging it, and then recognizing for what it is. It's just a voice. It is not the truth. So let me share with you kind of a personal story. So my gremlin shows up a lot, and I don't think I'm alone here. This can be in the form of doubting myself. It can show up in so situations might tell me that you know you don't belong here, Carli. Everyone else is smarter, more interesting, better looking, or a big one is they're judging you. And that voice used to be really powerful because I didn't have that skill of noticing it, of observing it as a separate part of my mind. I just went with it as the truth. It was just me, and it certainly didn't get me very far. And I actually told a friend about this, and he was so surprised because he had this perception of me that I had my shit together and that I was this calm and friendly, ambitious, all those words that we describe when we're talking about other people. So when I told him that I have this in a gremlin and you know what the gremlin sometimes says to me, he was actually quite shocked. So don't think you're alone on this one. Don't think that others who might look like they are living this amazing, carefree, confident life don't have this in a gremlin, because we all do. It is a natural part of being human. It's part of what makes us human. It's just that some people are able to live their lives because they don't allow this voice to stop them doing what's important. And I have learned from years of studying this, both formally and informally, that I can't give that voice my full attention, because if I do, I'll spend my life dictated by it. Instead, I've had to practice and practice and I keep practicing every day, turning my attention towards my sage, that wiser part of myself, and I ask, what would my calmer, more compassionate version of me say right now? My sage reminds me to focus on what is important to me, that I do the best job I can in that presentation, if I'm working towards something, or I'm as good a friend as I can be, or a good person to be around. So I focus outwards being curious about others, and then I act. I do whatever I do is aligned with what is important, rather than doing what is aligned with the self defeating, unhelpful gremlin. And as I said, this struggle is universal. If we don't practice accepting our gremlin, we get stuck fighting with it, and we become reactive instead of responsive to life. And totally suggests that we accept the present moment as if we had chosen it. And this doesn't mean that we agree with everything the gremlin says. It means we acknowledge its presence, but without resisting it. And of course disc comfort is part of this process, and I think this is the part that people struggle with the most. Accepting that voice doesn't make it disappear, but it does take away its power. And in that space of acceptance, we can choose to turn to our sage, that part of us that is grounded and wise and aligned with what is important to us. And then we do what we need to do. We get up, we get dressed, we look after our body, we eat nutritious food, we calm ourselves through breath work, we strive to be good citizens, and we show gratitude to this amazing world in which we all live in. So here's a challenge for this week. Notice your gremlin. The next time you have a negative, self defeating thought, just pause, notice it and name it and say to yourself, ah, my gremlin again. And this creates that space between you and the voice. And then comes the hardest part, and that is accepting it. It's really hard to do this because when we have these voices in our head, what we want to do is get rid of it or fix ourselves. So the skill here is not to fight that voice, to allow it to be there without judgment, and to not allow it to dictate what we do. So acknowledge it with curiosity. You know, you can notice it and go, ah, that's interesting, my gremlin thinks I'm an idiot, and they just allow that thought to be there from a distance, And then you turn your attention to your sage. What would that calm wise version of me do? Right now, we all have a calm wise version of us, and shift your focus from the gremlins chatter to the present moment and then do what needs to be done. So this practice isn't about silencing the gremlin. It's about choosing where your attention goes. And as totally says, all negativity is caused by denial of the present. So by bringing yourself back to the now, you're weakening the gremlin's grip and strengthen your connection to the Sage. I know that if you put in the work, if you practice this like you would practice a piano, or train in sport, or study for an exam, or develop any skill, what you do is you develop this skill of living intentionally, and you never stop. We're never exonerated from this work. So every day I keep practicing, and I know from my personal experience and from my clients that practice this themselves, that it can change the way you live. So this week I invite you to practice. Listen to your Gramlin with compassion and curiosity. Notice how often it shows up, and remind yourself that you don't have to let it dictate your actions. Instead, turn your attention to your stage and take small, intentional steps forward, And remember you are not your thoughts, and you are so much more than what that voice tells you. It's not about relying on others to tell you how amazing you are. Discover it yourself by getting out of your head and then doing what's important to you. So thank you for joining me today on Mojo Monday, and I will catch you next week.

Hi, everyone, It's Carl Taylor here and welcome to Mojo Monday on the Paul Taylor Podcast. So this week we are diving into a topic that I have spoken about, I think a few times before, but it's a topic that you can't just listen to once. And I know that this episode is going to resonate with most of you. So we're going to talk about the gremlin in your head. So this concept is not new. This inner voice has been the subject of Eastern religion, stoic philosophy, personal development and mastery experts, and now modern science. There's a lot of research behind it now. But for me personally, my gremlin often shows up as that voice that says you don't belong or it will assume that that person won't want to talk to you. And it's the same voice that tells me I'm not good enough to do the things that I really want to do, the things that are important to me. And sometimes I can get so entangled up in this voice that it's exhausting. It's like trying to untangle a spider web. And the more we try, the more sticky and stuck that we get. And I have learned and I am still learning, and I will continue to learn that if I give that voice my attention, it's like handing at the reins to my life. I become trapped in my head. I feel small, and I can feel worthless. But what I have learned is that I can't let the gretlin dictate how I live. So today we'll explore how to recognize that voice, practice accepting it without giving it power, and turn to our inner sage, that wiser, calmer part of ourselves to guide us. So how do we recognize when the Gremlin's in control? So eckhark Toli, who I'm sure most of you will be familiar with, he wrote a book called The Power of Now. He describes this voice in that book as a tormentor that drains us of energy and keeps us locked in this repetitive, negative thought pattern. He calls it the thinker, and one of the first steps to liberation is to simply notice it. So let's break that down. There's the thought or the gremlin or the tormentor or whatever you want to call it, and then there's you, and you are the noticer of those thoughts. So stop now, just try this, stop now, and just notice your thoughts and maybe you're just noticing that you're thinking about thinking, and so you can just notice that and echo. Tolly writes, listen to the voice in your head. Do not judge or condemn what you hear, for doing so would mean the same voice has come in again through the back door. And I just think this is so powerful because when we judge or fight that in a critic, when we fight our gremlin, we're actually feeding it more. Attention loves attention. It thrives on us trying to resist it. So the key is to watch the gremlin, notice the gremlin, acknowledge it without judging it, and then recognizing for what it is. It's just a voice. It is not the truth. So let me share with you kind of a personal story. So my gremlin shows up a lot, and I don't think I'm alone here. This can be in the form of doubting myself. It can show up in so situations might tell me that you know you don't belong here, Carli. Everyone else is smarter, more interesting, better looking, or a big one is they're judging you. And that voice used to be really powerful because I didn't have that skill of noticing it, of observing it as a separate part of my mind. I just went with it as the truth. It was just me, and it certainly didn't get me very far. And I actually told a friend about this, and he was so surprised because he had this perception of me that I had my shit together and that I was this calm and friendly, ambitious, all those words that we describe when we're talking about other people. So when I told him that I have this in a gremlin and you know what the gremlin sometimes says to me, he was actually quite shocked. So don't think you're alone on this one. Don't think that others who might look like they are living this amazing, carefree, confident life don't have this in a gremlin, because we all do. It is a natural part of being human. It's part of what makes us human. It's just that some people are able to live their lives because they don't allow this voice to stop them doing what's important. And I have learned from years of studying this, both formally and informally, that I can't give that voice my full attention, because if I do, I'll spend my life dictated by it. Instead, I've had to practice and practice and I keep practicing every day, turning my attention towards my sage, that wiser part of myself, and I ask, what would my calmer, more compassionate version of me say right now? My sage reminds me to focus on what is important to me, that I do the best job I can in that presentation, if I'm working towards something, or I'm as good a friend as I can be, or a good person to be around. So I focus outwards being curious about others, and then I act. I do whatever I do is aligned with what is important, rather than doing what is aligned with the self defeating, unhelpful gremlin. And as I said, this struggle is universal. If we don't practice accepting our gremlin, we get stuck fighting with it, and we become reactive instead of responsive to life. And totally suggests that we accept the present moment as if we had chosen it. And this doesn't mean that we agree with everything the gremlin says. It means we acknowledge its presence, but without resisting it. And of course disc comfort is part of this process, and I think this is the part that people struggle with the most. Accepting that voice doesn't make it disappear, but it does take away its power. And in that space of acceptance, we can choose to turn to our sage, that part of us that is grounded and wise and aligned with what is important to us. And then we do what we need to do. We get up, we get dressed, we look after our body, we eat nutritious food, we calm ourselves through breath work, we strive to be good citizens, and we show gratitude to this amazing world in which we all live in. So here's a challenge for this week. Notice your gremlin. The next time you have a negative, self defeating thought, just pause, notice it and name it and say to yourself, ah, my gremlin again. And this creates that space between you and the voice. And then comes the hardest part, and that is accepting it. It's really hard to do this because when we have these voices in our head, what we want to do is get rid of it or fix ourselves. So the skill here is not to fight that voice, to allow it to be there without judgment, and to not allow it to dictate what we do. So acknowledge it with curiosity. You know, you can notice it and go, ah, that's interesting, my gremlin thinks I'm an idiot, and they just allow that thought to be there from a distance, And then you turn your attention to your sage. What would that calm wise version of me do? Right now, we all have a calm wise version of us, and shift your focus from the gremlins chatter to the present moment and then do what needs to be done. So this practice isn't about silencing the gremlin. It's about choosing where your attention goes. And as totally says, all negativity is caused by denial of the present. So by bringing yourself back to the now, you're weakening the gremlin's grip and strengthen your connection to the Sage. I know that if you put in the work, if you practice this like you would practice a piano, or train in sport, or study for an exam, or develop any skill, what you do is you develop this skill of living intentionally, and you never stop. We're never exonerated from this work. So every day I keep practicing, and I know from my personal experience and from my clients that practice this themselves, that it can change the way you live. So this week I invite you to practice. Listen to your Gramlin with compassion and curiosity. Notice how often it shows up, and remind yourself that you don't have to let it dictate your actions. Instead, turn your attention to your stage and take small, intentional steps forward, And remember you are not your thoughts, and you are so much more than what that voice tells you. It's not about relying on others to tell you how amazing you are. Discover it yourself by getting out of your head and then doing what's important to you. So thank you for joining me today on Mojo Monday, and I will catch you next week.