Day 17 – Watch Out For Your Self-Talk

What do you say to yourself on a daily basis?

What do you tell yourself when things don’t go to plan?

Is your self-talk helping to build you up, or keep you down?

“Self-talk is the most powerful form of communication because it either empowers you or it defeats you.”

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Your self-image is built on a number of thoughts, based on your experiences and events.  Many times we hold on to beliefs that do not serve us well. Today’s Tool is Watch Out For Your Self-Talk.

What is self-talk?

In a nut shell, it’s your inner voice. The things that you say to yourself but not out loud in public, it’s like your own running commentary.

Your self-talk will reinforce your negative or positive self-image of yourself. Have you ever found yourself say the following when things don’t go to plan.

1. Today is going to be one of them days.

2. That’s just how my life is for me.

3. Nothing ever works out for me.

4. That’s just my luck.

When you say these statements to yourself over and over again in different situations, it will only aid with increasing your negative self-image and making what you don’t want become your reality.  The law of the land says that you reap what you sow; sow negative thoughts, reap negative beliefs and outcomes.

Time To Take Action

Developing positive self-talk

Examples of Self Talk 

Negative Self–Talk 

1. Things never workout for me.

2. I always have to work harder than everyone else.

3. It’s too complicated.

4. I’m not going to get any better at this

Positive Self–Talk

1. It’s an opportunity to learn something.

2. I can try to make it work.

3. I can do it.

4. I’ll give it another try.

Step 1 – Today listen critically to your inner critic, awareness is the first step to overcoming any situation.

Step 2 – Take your thoughts to court – Question your self-talk

1. Is what you are saying really true?

2. Can it be looked at from a different perspective?

3. Is there evidence to prove that the way you are thinking is right?

Step 3 – As you become more aware of your negative self-talk, this will give you the opportunity, to start to replace your negative self-talk with positive talk. For example:

Things never go right for me VS next time I will do things a little differently. Same situation just a different way for your inner voice to interpret what is happening.

Another Tool that you can use.

Positive Scripts

Through our negative self-talking, we can sometimes create stories in our minds and keep on adding to that story based on our experiences. Creating a positive script is like having your own record in your mind, that you can press play when you find yourself playing your negative self-chatter record.

Or you can run the positive script like a movie in your mind, so you will have your inner positive self-talk and will add pictures to it, giving much more strength to your story. When you add visualization to positive self-talk, magical things can happen.

Replacing self-talk from a negative to a more positive one is not going to happen overnight but it will be worth it in the end.

Benefits Of This Tool

1. It can help to boost your confidence.

2. Helps improve performance.

3. Improves your self-image.

4. Helps you to develop better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.

Some Recommended Reading

1. What to Say When You Talk to Your Self [Yourself ] by Shad Helmstetter

2. Deliver Me From Negative Self Talk by Lynn R. Davis

3. No Matter What!: 9 Steps to Living the Life You Love by Lisa Nichols  (Author)