I openly talk about the voices in my head and how they can positively or negatively impact my day. When I ask clients if they have voices in their head they often don’t want to admit that they do.
Research shows that we can have up to 70,000 thoughts in a day. That’s a lot of noise and it’s easy for the noise to take control and choose the direction of our day. What if I said we can choose what thoughts and voices we pay attention to and which ones we don’t?
When we think about our health and wellbeing we often focus on improving our physical fitness. However, mental fitness is just as important. It drives achievement, nurtures meaningful relationships, and enhances our sense of purpose. True personal growth starts in the mind—by noticing the quiet ways we undermine ourselves and gradually replacing them with positive, consistent habits. You can listen to the positive thoughts and voices that you want to and turn down the volume on the negatives ones.
What is mental fitness?
Shirzad Chamine, author of the New York Times bestselling Positive Intelligence, uses a framework that explains mental fitness very clearly. It is the process of strengthening and training your mind. It’s about how you manage stress, understand yourself, and relate to others. A mentally fit mind handles challenges with clarity, calm, and confidence rather than anxiety or avoidance.
Understanding your saboteurs
Saboteurs are the voices in your head creating the biggest barriers to you achieving what you want to each day. These automatic thought patterns form early in life to help you survive, but over time they become overprotective and limiting.
My Saboteurs include:
â– Judge: Fixates on flaws, fueling self-criticism and perfectionism.
â– Hyper-achiever: Competitive, can keep people at a safe distance.
â– Controller: Struggles to trust others, needing to direct every outcome.
â– Restless: Seeks excitement and variety, not comfort and safety.
These voices may feel like they are telling the truth, but they’re simply habits of thought — ones that can be changed.
Meet your Sage
Shirzad explains that your Sage is the wiser, calmer part of you that thrives on empathy, curiosity, and creativity. While Saboteurs drain your energy and narrow your focus, your Sage opens space for growth and possibility.
My Sage superpowers:
■Empathize – Connect deeply with yourself and others.
■Explore – Stay curious instead of judgmental.
■Innovate – Find creative solutions to challenges.
■Navigate – Align decisions with your core values.
■Activate – Move forward with clarity and purpose.
How saboteurs undermine growth
Saboteurs don’t shout; they whisper. They lower confidence, stir fear, and drive perfectionism. The Hyper-Achiever pushes impossible standards that lead to burnout. The Controller is easily distracted and can get too scattered. These inner critics amplify stress, strain relationships, and erode motivation. Over time, they make progress feel like an uphill battle.
Strengthening mental fitness
Lasting self-improvement begins when you quiet those inner critics and amplify your Sage’s voice. The first step is awareness: notice when a Saboteur appears and label it — There’s my hyper-achiever again. That small pause interrupts its power.
As you practice, your Sage grows stronger. Each time you respond to stress with empathy, curiosity, or creativity, you build mental resilience — just like exercising a muscle.
■Empathize when you’re frustrated or self-critical.
â– Explore to view challenges from new angles.
â– Innovate when old strategies stop working.
â– Navigate using your values as a compass.
â– Activate to take confident, purposeful action.
Imagine a life where your inner critic no longer dominates and your Sage leads with calm confidence. That’s the essence of mental fitness: greater clarity, resilience, and connection to your best self.
Which voices will you listen to today?
