What do the voices in your head say to you? You may not hear audible voices, but there are messages about yourself, your purpose, career, relationships, etc. that keep rumbling through your mind. Those are the voices that I’m talking about. They may be of your own creation, or they can also be an accumulation of input from other sources – including family, friends, teachers, social media and more.
Voices from Social Media
For example, a recent article from King University found that “parts of the brain that deal with emotional and sensory processing reacted noticeably when participants felt excluded. What this means is that when social media users are excluded from online groups, chats, or events, the brain reacts in these specific regions directly.” When your brain feels excluded – what messages do you think it’s hearing about your value or worth? On the other side of the coin, social media has the ability to raise dopamine levels and make us feel rewarded and loved when someone likes something we have posted.
Voices from Failure
If you have ever failed at something, the voice in your head will often be connected to the personality you have. For some men, failure leads to a greater commitment to be better. The Netflix series, The Last Dance dramatically illustrates this. This documentary describes the rise of Michael Jordan to be arguably the best player in the history of basketball. You see how driven Jordan is to be the best. He is famously quoted as saying, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.”
If you have ever failed at something, the voice in your head will often be connected to the personality you have.
Other men fail, and the voices in their head drive them to greater levels of fear. I’ve seen men fail in school, jobs, relationships, and more, and I cannot begin to tell you how many times this failure has caused men to freeze up. None of us like to fail, but the appearance of being a failure stings even more. The voices in our mind tell us we can’t change, and we will never be better.
None of us like to fail, but the appearance of being a failure stings even more.
The Danger
There is a danger to listening to the voices in your head.
One set of voices may convince you that you are better than you really are. They can create a sense of security and superiority over others. You can see this part of the story show up in The Last Dance as teammates talk about what it was like to play with Jordan.
For other men, they live in a space of trying to prove the voices wrong. They work harder and longer to prove they have what it takes to be a success, but often at the expense of alienating the people they say they love the most.
Another set of voices may convince you that you are always destined to fail and be a loser. These voices create a sense of deep insecurity and a desire to look for some type of success and respect from somewhere. For many men, this can result in trying to escape reality through things like gaming or pornography.
What If There Was One Voice?
In John 10:27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”
In those moments, when I have many different voices running through my mind, there is a simple prayer that I have learned. This prayer goes like this, “Jesus, help me to hear your voice above every other.”
Nobody knows you like Jesus does. He created you. He knows your personality, your talents, and your weaknesses. He knows where you will fail and where you will thrive. The key is to hear his voice above all others. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- What does Jesus say about who I am?
- What strengths has he given to me?
- What desires has Jesus put in me that will bring life to others?
- What limitations has Jesus given to me?
You will find greater peace, purpose, and joy in your life if you listen to only one voice and follow where he is leading you.
You will find greater peace, purpose, and joy in your life if you listen to only one voice and follow where he is leading you.
Make a habit of listening only for Jesus’ voice. Pray this same prayer for other men who you are friends with. Allow one voice to shepherd your life rather than trying to please dozens or hundreds of other voices that are in your head.
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