{"id":1686,"date":"2026-09-04T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innertalk.com\/blog\/?p=1686"},"modified":"2026-09-08T16:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T23:32:05","slug":"some-of-the-most-important-work-we-do-is-on-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innertalk.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/04\/some-of-the-most-important-work-we-do-is-on-ourselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Some of the Most Important Work We Do Is on Ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"InnerTalk<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an earlier newsletter, I wrote about the changes we sometimes almost don\u2019t notice. We may suddenly realize that something which once intimidated us no longer does. That we handled a difficult situation differently. That we followed through on something we would once have postponed. Or perhaps we simply recognize that we are not quite the same person we were a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spend so much time looking at the distance still ahead of us <\/em>
that it is easy to forget how far we have already traveled.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those changes are achievements, but I have been thinking about another way of looking at them: they are also the result of work.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Do We Mean by Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We tend to think of work as something we do for a living. It is what happens between the time we start our working day and the time we finish it. And, very often, we associate work with effort. If something is difficult, exhausting, or requires enormous discipline, we call it hard work. If we enjoy doing it, somehow it can feel as though it doesn\u2019t quite count. But work doesn\u2019t have to be hard to be worthwhile. In fact, some of our best work happens when we become so engaged in what we are doing that work begins to feel like play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And work can become something more than a way of earning a living. It can become a form of service. You don\u2019t have to be doing something extraordinary. Perhaps you are simply the person who smiles at a customer, remembers someone\u2019s name, solves a problem, encourages a coworker, or makes another human being feel appreciated. Sometimes the most meaningful part of our work isn\u2019t even in our job description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Work of Becoming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But there is another kind of work that I think deserves recognition: the work we do on ourselves.<\/em> Becoming more confident. Learning to manage our time<\/a> or money<\/a> more wisely. Improving a relationship<\/a>.<\/a> Developing healthier habits. <\/a>Becoming more creative<\/a>. Learning<\/a> something new. Letting go of a fear<\/a> that has limited us. Becoming more comfortable in our own skin. Following through on something that matters to us. These are achievements too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps this is where today’s message becomes especially important. The results of this kind of work aren\u2019t always accompanied by a diploma, promotion, trophy, or paycheck. Sometimes the changes are small enough that we barely notice them at first. We make a slightly different decision. We take an opportunity we might once have dismissed. We persist a little longer. We speak up when we might once have remained silent. We try something we previously assumed we couldn\u2019t do. But small changes accumulate. Change your direction by even a few degrees and, over time, you can arrive somewhere very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why I think we sometimes underestimate the significance of these quieter achievements. A small change in a belief, expectation, habit, or response can put us on a different path \u2014 one that takes us more directly toward whatever success means to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change itself may seem small. <\/em>
Where it can eventually take us may not be.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When You Don\u2019t Know What Is Holding You Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the things I have learned over the years is that trying harder isn\u2019t always the answer. Sometimes the real difficulty isn\u2019t the thing we are trying to accomplish. It is the resistance we bring to it \u2014 and very often, we don\u2019t even know the resistance is there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about driving a familiar route. You can arrive at your destination with almost no conscious memory of the journey. You stopped at the lights, made the turns, changed lanes and responded to traffic, but the process was so familiar that much of it happened automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our inner beliefs can become just as automatic. On the surface, you can tell yourself that you deserve to succeed. That you are capable, talented and worthy. That this time you really are going to follow through. But underneath those conscious intentions may be much older messages telling you something quite different: \u201cI\u2019m not good enough.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll probably fail.\u201d \u201cI never stick with anything.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m terrible with money.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m just not creative.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve always been this way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When beliefs have been repeated and reinforced for years, we don\u2019t necessarily hear them as thoughts anymore. They can simply become part of the background \u2014 assumptions we act upon without consciously recognizing that they are influencing our choices. Oftentimes, we only begin to recognize them when we notice \u2014 or someone else points out \u2014 how frequently we seem to repeat the same kinds of failures. And this highlights a peculiar kind of struggle. Consciously, we are trying to move in one direction while some of our deeply habituated beliefs are quietly pulling us in another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the reasons I believe working on the inner environment matters so much. When we begin changing those underlying messages, we aren\u2019t simply telling ourselves to try harder. We are working to reduce the resistance that made change harder than it needed to be in the first place. Perhaps that is one of the most useful definitions of working smarter rather than harder.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why InnerTalk\u00ae<\/sup>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is precisely what InnerTalk was developed to address. InnerTalk has been studied by independent universities and research institutions, with research demonstrating its effectiveness in changing self-talk \u2014 those internal messages that can influence what we believe, expect, notice and ultimately do. Change the inner conversation and new choices and experiences can naturally follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

InnerTalk is also a patented technology. It isn\u2019t simply a collection of positive affirmations hidden beneath music. The technology was specifically developed to deliver positive messages in a way designed to work with subconscious processes. That distinction matters. To our knowledge, InnerTalk remains unique among technologies of its kind in having both patent protection and independent scientific research supporting its effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, that has always been important: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t just believe that change is possible. <\/em>
Take control and restructure the beliefs that may be getting in the way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Would You Like to Work On?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, let\u2019s also recognize the work that has made us who we are \u2014 and consciously choose some of the work that will help shape who we become next. Not what somebody else thinks you should change, or what you are \u201csupposed\u201d to want. What would make your life better for you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps there is one area you would really like to strengthen. Perhaps there are five. Or perhaps there is one important goal you would like to approach from several different directions. Wherever you would like to begin, our InnerTalk library offers many possibilities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n