The Art of Changing Course

CHAPTER 3The Power of Language

KEY TASKS FROM THIS CHAPTER:

• Check the things you believe to be true about yourself.
• Use neurolinguistic programming to change the way you talk about yourself.
• Reframe your situation to find the gain and not the loss around change.
• Find where you are on the Change Course Linguistic Matrix.

I opened Instagram the other day to David Goggins's wife recording him from her car. He was running an impromptu 100 miles in frigid weather, wearing nothing more than running shorts and a light hoodie. This took him over 12 hours, and there was no reason other than he felt like it.

If you don't know who David Goggins is, look him up. He's an extreme endurance athlete, a former Navy SEAL, and a best‐selling author. He is the only man to complete SEAL training, US Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training, and he did so despite stress fractures, pneumonia, and sickle cell anemia. Oh, and he also had to lose over 100 pounds in three months at one point in his journey.

He's very blunt and very outspoken but rightfully so. He epitomizes grit and resilience and attributes his achievements to the power of self‐talk and internal language.

Highlighting the significance of self‐talk, Goggins is a prime example of how influential language can be when it comes to shaping your subconscious and achieving your own goals.

Recognizing when to change course and actually changing course are two different things. And here's where language and mindset ...