Are you aware that from the time you wake up
to the time you doze off you are in constant
communication with yourself? Are you aware of
the things you say to yourself and the tone in which
you say them?
When you make a huge mistake, do you criticize
yourself bitterly? Do you call yourself loser or a
good for nothing human being? Do you spend time
putting yourself down for every little mistake you
make?
Your thoughts definitely make up who you are
as a person. Negative self-talk is a very destructive
force towards your self confidence, particularly if you
spend your day referring to yourself with the constant
use of negative words. Sooner or later you actually begin
to believe that what you are saying is true and you accept
any negative situation as “your just portion” in life.
Generally these negative messages
originated from comments verbalized by
adults that played an important role in your
life while you were younger. They may have
uttered these harsh words when you did something
that irritated them or maybe they just berated you
even when you did not deserve it. Therefore as a result,
you have internalized these negative messages and now
you are reinforcing this negativism by repeating them to
yourself and accepting them as truths.
Fortunately you have the power to change your
negative self-talk any time you want. You just have to
monitor your thought processes. When you say something
negative towards yourself, Stop! Replace that negative
message
with one that will empower you.
Try these 3 simple steps
1) Be aware of your “self-talk”. And notice when you
are putting yourself down. With practice this will
become easier.
2) Reject the negative message. When you notice yourself
saying something negative such as;Â “I’m such
an idiot, I can’t do anything right.” Stop yourself!
Change that negative statement by affirming
the following:
“I am intelligent and I can do anything
I put my mind to.”
3) Replace the negative thought process with a positive
one. When you notice that you’re saying uncaring and
harsh things to yourself, simply change it around
in your mind. Using the above example, you might
say something like; “Wow, that’s not true at all! I do a
lot of things right.” “It’s true I sometimes make mistakes,
but so does everyone else. No one is perfect.” “I’m a wonderful
person and I try my very best. I am pleased with myself.â€
With practice, your efforts will pay off in the form of
a stronger sense of self and a lot more appreciation for
your gifts and talents. It will take time, persistence and
patience to undo years of negative programming, so
do not give up. Eventually you will succeed in
replacing these negative beliefs with positive ones,
and as a result you will feel better about yourself,
and your life. You will see this positivity spill into
your personal life as well as your professional life.
Enriching not only you but also those around you.
