#122: [Inside the Mind] Trevor Tellin: The Power of Self-Talk and Having Better Conversations with Yourself to Build Confidence and Resilience

Your self-talk is the only voice you hear 24/7 — and most days, it's not that kind. 

For many golfers and entrepreneurs, that inner dialogue quietly runs the show: it talks you out of what you know you should be doing, keeps you glued to comfort, and convinces you you're not ready, not worthy, or not capable of the next level.

In this episode of The Scratch Golfer's Mindset Podcast, I sit down with mindset coach Trevor Tellin to unpack how your inner voice shapes your identity, your confidence, and your results — on the golf course and in business. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Spot the invisible ways your self-talk sabotages your golf game and business.
• Use a simple "reward scale" to win more debates between the couch and the range.
• Personify your inner voices so you can work with them instead of being ruled by them.
• Create space between you and your thoughts so they feel less personal and more workable.
• Use Interloop to capture real self-talk data from your rounds and turn it into growth.
• Understand fear of success, over-identifying with "the grind," and how they keep you stuck.
• Build mental toughness and confidence through repetition, hard things, and self-compassion.

Get your pencils ready and start listening. 

P.P.S. Curious to learn more about the results my clients are experiencing and what they say about working with me? Read more here.

More About Trevor

Trevor Tellin is a high-performance mindset coach who helps golfers master the mental side of the game so they can perform with confidence, composure, and clarity under pressure. Founder of Mindset Coach Trev, he works with competitive amateurs, college players, and professionals to help them overcome fear, perfectionism, and self-doubt—on and off the course. 

With a master's degree in psychology and years of experience coaching athletes, leaders, and business professionals, Trevor combines sport psychology, neuroscience, and practical mindset tools to help clients unlock their full potential and play—and live—with greater freedom and fulfillment.

Connect with Trevor.

Connect on Instagram (mindsetcoachtrev).

Play to Your Potential On (and Off) the Course

1. Schedule a Mindset Coaching Discovery Call
2. Subscribe to the More Pars than Bogeys Newsletter
3. Download my "Play Your Best Round" free hypnosis audio recording.

High-Performance Hypnotherapy and Mindset Coaching

Paul Salter - known as The Golf Hypnotherapist - is a High-Performance Hypnotherapist and Mindset Coach who leverages hypnosis and powerful subconscious reprogramming techniques to help golfers of all ages and skill levels overcome the mental hazards of their minds so they can shoot lower scores and play to their potential.

He has over 16 years of coaching experience working with high performers in various industries, helping them get unstuck, out of their own way, and unlock their full potential.

Click here to learn more about how high-performance hypnotherapy and mindset coaching can help you get out of your own way and play to your potential on (and off) the course. 

Instagram: @thegolfhypnotherapist 

Key Takeaways:

• Awareness is everything — most self-talk patterns run on autopilot until you finally slow down enough to hear them.
• Every choice is an exchange; comfort feels good now, but it often carries the hidden cost of slowing or blocking your long-term growth.
• Scoring your choices helps you override resistance by comparing the real value of short-term comfort vs. long-term reward.
• Personifying your inner voices creates separation, making it easier to recognize which ones help you and which ones hijack you.
• Tools like Interloop reveal patterns you'd never notice on your own, giving you tangible data to change your on-course self-talk.
• Fear of success often drives sabotage — when you get close to the next level, the uncertainty of "what comes with it" pulls you back.
• Mental toughness and confidence come from repetition, doing hard things, and proving to yourself (again and again) that you can handle discomfort.

Key Quotes:

• "We're so familiar with our inner voice that we don't realize how often it runs the show."
• "We rationalize sabotage because the excuses sound convincing coming from ourselves."
• "Every decision is an exchange — you can't get what you want without giving up something."
• "When you personify a limiting voice, it becomes easier to question and redirect it."
• "Turning a feeling into a character creates distance, and distance creates choice."
• "Most people envy the result but not the inputs required to reach it."
• "Mental toughness is being present in discomfort and choosing to lean in anyway."

Time Stamps:

• 00:00: The Power of Inner Dialogue
• 02:45: Understanding Self-Sabotage
• 05:33: Personifying Inner Voices
• 08:14: Balancing Positive and Negative Voices
• 11:17: Creating Awareness for Change
• 14:06: Introducing InnerLoop: A New Tool
• 17:03: Education and Frameworks for Improvement
• 19:53: Unlearning Achievement-Based Identity
• 22:36: Invisible Patterns of Self-Sabotage
• 24:17: The Cost of Success
• 27:37: Overcoming Identity Limitations
• 31:13: Transferring Skills from Practice to Performance
• 33:20: Understanding Mental Toughness
• 38:31: The Power of Self-Talk and Kindness
• 41:47: It's Okay: A Perspective Shift