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Why you can’t trust your brain

Why you can’t trust your brain

Master Your Mind: How to Silence Your Saboteurs and Unlock True Power

We rely on our mind for everything — every thought, decision, opinion or idea you can conjure up is thought to come from the mind. But did you know your mind can’t always be trusted? Living inside your head is dangerous. This is where your saboteurs are triggered, and that is when your internal enemies come to light, habitual mind patterns creep in and negative self-talk takes over.

As Shirzad Chamine writes in his book, Positive Intelligence, your saboteurs manifested themselves when you were a child and shaped your outlook on the world. They were survival tools that you developed to protect and cope with physical and emotional forces and they remain into adulthood — even though you no longer need them. Your saboteurs are so ingrained in your mind that they shape all of the behaviors and thought patterns that work against you.

The incessant thoughts in your head only work to bog you down and influence your decisions negatively. But they can be controlled, and once they are, you can begin to make decisions from the heart, rather than your head, which is where all of the best decisions manifest themselves.

Chamine, Shirzad (2012).Positive Intelligence.

Here are the two steps to conquering the voices in your head:

1. Become aware.

Identifying just how you are sabotaging yourself is the first step to conquering the voices in your head because you cannot change anything that you are not aware of. How do your saboteurs manifest themselves in your head? Are you very harsh on others? Yourself? Do you worry more than you should? All of these things can influence the thoughts in your head and leave you stuck there.

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2. Get out of your head, and get present.

When you learn to be present, or live in the moment, your inner voices go silent. From that point, you are operating from your heart, which is called the sage — then you are following your infinite wisdom, rather than your mind.

How are you sabotaging yourself? Find out now by taking this five-minute saboteur assessment test.

Identify your limiting beliefs and annihilate them! Learn to change your state in an instant.

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A story from Tony

Sarah’s Journey from Saboteur Prison to Sage Freedom

Let me start by telling you something most people don’t realize: your mind is not your friend all the time. We live inside our heads, trusting every thought, every decision, every opinion as if it’s gospel truth. But here’s the hard truth — your mind can be your biggest saboteur. It’s the battlefield where your internal enemies hide, where old survival patterns from childhood still run the show, and where negative self-talk quietly steals your power.

I remember coaching a client named Sarah. She was a high-achieving entrepreneur, running a successful business, but she kept hitting invisible walls. “Tony,” she said, “I feel like I’m my own worst enemy. I’m constantly doubting myself, second-guessing every move. It’s exhausting.” Sarah’s mind was a war zone of harsh judgments and relentless worry. She was trapped by her saboteurs — those automatic thought patterns that Shirzad Chamine talks about in Positive Intelligence — voices that had been with her since childhood, trying to protect her but now holding her back.

We started by shining a light on those voices. “Sarah, what are the stories you tell yourself when you’re alone?” I asked. She paused and said, “I’m not good enough. I’m going to fail. People will see I’m a fraud.” Those were her saboteurs speaking — the Judge, the Victim, the Controller — all trying to keep her safe by keeping her small.

The breakthrough came when Sarah learned to catch those voices in the act. Awareness was the first step. “I realized I was living in a loop of self-criticism,” she told me later. “Once I saw it, I could start to question it.” We practiced shifting her focus from the noise in her head to the present moment — grounding her in what was real, not what her saboteurs predicted. “When I got present,” she said, “those voices started to quiet down. I felt like I was finally listening to my heart, not my fear.”

That’s the power of presence. When you step out of your head and into the now, you silence the saboteurs and tap into your inner wisdom — what Shirzad calls the Sage. This is where your best decisions come from, where creativity flows, and where your true power lives.

So here’s my challenge for you: start by becoming aware. Notice the stories your mind is telling you. Are you harsh on yourself or others? Do you worry too much? Then practice getting present. Breathe deeply, feel your body, and anchor yourself in this moment. The voices in your head don’t have to run your life.

Sarah’s transformation wasn’t overnight, but it was real. She went from being trapped by her mind’s sabotage to leading her business and life with clarity and confidence. “I’m no longer at war with myself,” she said. “I’m finally on my own team.”

Your mind can be your greatest ally — but only when you learn to master it, not be mastered by it. Take the first step today. Become aware. Get present. And watch how your life changes when you start making decisions from your heart, not your head.

Are you ready to silence your saboteurs and unleash your true potential? The power is already inside you. Now it’s time to own it.

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Own Your Mind, Own Your Life

Your mind can be your greatest ally or your fiercest enemy. The difference lies in awareness and presence. When you recognize your saboteurs and step out of your head into the present moment, you silence the noise and unlock your inner wisdom — your Sage.

This is where your best decisions come from. This is where your true power lives.

Start today: become aware of your inner voices, practice presence, and choose to operate from your heart. The saboteurs don’t stand a chance when you own your mind.

Your breakthrough is waiting. Own it. Live it. Be unstoppable.

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Why you can't trust your brain | Tony Robbins