Dan Nelken is a copywriter I admire.

I’ve read his book, I’ve taken his course. Both helped me improve my chops and better understand the craft.

But this isn’t a post about copywriting.

Along with copy, Dan talks a lot about his past battles with self-confidence.

The creative industry isn’t for the faint of heart, you see. Your work is under the microscope EVERY. FUCKING. DAY.

It’s scrutinized by your peers, your boss, and your client’s wife’s third cousin on her father’s side. Everyone has an opinion, literally.

Worst of all is the shitty little voice in your head.

That dick always has something to say. About your work, how you look. About what you should be doing, what you shouldn’t be doing. About your abilities at this, that, and the other thing.

It’s not worth listening to. But we do.

“Your Inner Critic is a ding dong!”
– Dan Nelken

In a recent newsletter, Dan mentions another voice in our head. It’s soft spoken, so we don’t often hear it. And when we do, we rarely listen. At least, I don’t.

Dan calls this voice the Inner Champion.

It tells you to believe in yourself. It’s echoed by your supporters who say, “You got this shit,” and “You fucking nailed that,” and “Your client’s wife’s third cousin on her father’s side is an idiot.”

It’s the only voice worth paying attention to. So why don’t we?

“We walk toward pleasure but run from pain.”
– Anonymous

If I were a neuroscientist, I’d blame it on our brains being wired for survival. (I’m not a neuroscientist, but it’s a sound theory.)

Despite a millenia’s worth of evolution, our primal state is always set to fight, flight, or freeze. Meaning, we’re always on the lookout for danger.

And failure is a form of danger, apparently.

That’s why our Inner Critic speaks louder than our Inner Champion. In a twisted way, it’s preparing us for failure. If we expect it, we’re not surprised by it. If we’re not surprised by it, it hurts less. 

Right?

Not so much.

Instead of lessening the blow, we’re hard wiring negative thinking and piss-poor expectations. And that’s a shitty feeling.

Luckily, there’s an opposite at play.

“What you dwell upon you become.”
– Buddha

The beauty of the brain is its ability to form patterns. Smarter people than I dubbed it ‘neuroplasticity’.

Let’s focus on the ‘plasticity’ portion of the word.

Another word for plasticity is malleable. And if our brain is malleable, it can be reshaped. Which means negative patterns of thinking can be remodeled into positive patterns of thinking.

How, you ask?

If you watched the 2026 Winter Olympics, you may have seen the interview with skier Eileen Gu. She was asked how she responds to questions so comprehensively. 

“I’m an introspective young woman,” she admits. “I journal a lot, I break down all of my thought processes. I think I apply a very analytical lens to my own thinking, and I kind of modify it.”

She goes on to mention neuroplasticity, “…with neuroplasticity on my side, I can literally become exactly who I want to be. How cool is that?”

Very cool, indeed. 

“You can control what you think, you can control how you think, and therefore, you can control who you are.”
– Eileen Gu, Olympic Champion Freestyle Skier

Now, Eileen Gu is 22. Her patterns of thinking aren’t as long ingrained as mine (and maybe yours). Does that mean it’s too late to flip the script?

Absolutely not.

Sure, the best time to start was yesterday. But the second-best time is to start today.

Like Eileen, like Dan, I’m taking control of how I think. From here on out, I’m taking control of which inner voice I listen to.

It’s time I told the Inner Critic to go fuck itself.

I suggest you do the same.