How to brainwash the enemy that won't shut up

There are all kinds of perceived enemies in this world, but the most dangerous of enemies is the enemy within. My dad used to say, “Buck, you are your own worst enemy!” To one degree or another, I suppose we all have this internal enemy that hates us, but if you were to look for it in the mirror, you’ll just see your own fancy mug staring back at you. Like that Greek Trojan Horse, the enemy within seems to lay in wait until it’s threatened enough to strike out and make a mess of us.

Meanwhile, before that happens, you might notice there’s a platoon of loudmouths hiding in the trenches of your mind talking smack about you. They’ve got nothing good to say, just the opposite, and they can’t seem to shut up. They’re just trying to reinforce some dark truth about what a piece of crap you are.

So to get rid of this enemy, you’ll need to know a basic fact. It has three faces. Since it’s common for folks to be seized by at least one of these disruptive brutes, try to see if any might be harvesting ill will in your brain with regularity.

1. The Kickass Warrior
This troll is one who berates you into submission. It tells you you’re a joke, an imposter, a fake—a nobody who’s got nothing to offer the world. The Kickass Warrior grabs you by the nuts and inflicts emotional pain by whittling you down to a big fat zero. It’s threatened and fights you tooth and nail whenever you make an effort to show up in life and be there for others. It’s comfortable sitting on its ass in its lazy chair, which is why it doesn’t want you having any fancy notions about being more or using your time and energy to get ahead. So it will do its best to derail any plans you’re contemplating, chiefly by verbally kicking the crap out of you until you cower to its low opinion of you and relent by tucking yourself back under the covers. Job done!

2. The Stealth Bomber
This bomber appears out of nowhere and reduces you to rubble. Expect it when you’re busy doing your best to manage life’s ongoing responsibilities. The Stealth Bomber drops some heavy **** on you. If it can be described in a word, it feels like death. Like you can’t breathe, or move, or think. Because the enemy within hates responsibilities, it sends out its Stealth Bomber to go in for the kill whenever it’s failed to talk you out of doing what needs doing, paralyzing you like a seagull in an oil spill, and making it impossible to forge ahead with all the duties that are on your plate. It’s not mean-spirited, it just has a way of wiping you out. Mission accomplished for the time being.

3. The Nuclear Warhead
This is the most insidious attack of the three faces because it turns you into an explosive jerk that goes nuclear whenever the enemy within feels threatened by another’s opinion, accusation, or criticism. The Nuclear Warhead will obliterate those who are most important to you, be they your spouse, your children, a boss, or anyone who holds the cards to your happiness. The Nuclear Warhead is unleashed by you when the enemy within pushes the button. Once it gets pushed, there’s no retraction. The warheads are engaged and you’ve just lost your cookies. You may never recover from the loss of control or assault you inflict on others. So hold that thought long and hard.

Now, for the good news. If you think there’s a Trojan Horse operating within you as described above, don’t panic. There’s a surefire way to slay it. First you have to realize that you hold the cards. Believing otherwise will keep you a hostage behind enemy lines. And here’s the important part. Since the enemy’s fighting a threat behind every attack it launches, those threats must be neutralized. To that end, you’ll need to brainwash the enemy with one simple statement that you’ll repeat whenever it begins to make its brutish presence known. You may feel ridiculous saying this (I did at first), but it works every time if you say it firmly with conviction like you mean business, as if you’re your own guardian angel:

“I AM the power. I have the power. I’ll use my power, so stand down and shut up!”

Try it. You won’t regret it.