Getting Your Self-Talk Straight

How is your New Year starting out? Are you making progress on your goals? Whether you’re succeeding or failing, you might want to listen to your self-talk. This is what you say to yourself about yourself. The inner dialog that you believe about you.

People can be kind and loving toward others, but when it comes to themselves, sometimes not so much. You’ve probably heard a few of your close friends or even relatives call themselves by negative names: dummy, bonehead, ding-a-ling (and maybe worse!)

I recently heard the leader of a congregation say: “If God doesn’t say it about me, why would I say it about myself?”  Whatever you may think of YHVH, the Creator of the Universe, He’s only saying good things about you and me. So why aren’t we saying only good things about ourselves?

Recently, someone shared that what we say activates the spiritual realm to aid us in bringing those words to life. If you say negative things, the negative things happen. If you say positive things, positive things happen. I’ve been told that words have power.  Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has power over life and death; those who indulge it must eat its fruit.”

This ancient book of wisdom says that words have the power of life and death. That being so, we might want to pay more attention to what we are saying.

Have you considered positive affirmations? Years ago, I used to say them, read them, and ponder them, but then I fell away from the habit. Because I’ve recently been reminded of their power, I’ve picked it back up again. You might feel silly at first, saying aloud, I am outrageously successful, or I always meet my goals.  But when it starts happening, you’ll be dreaming up new ones pretty quickly. It’s your life, so plan for the amazing!

So much of our life depends on our attitude and ability to cast our circumstances in a positive light. Our ability to see the good that comes out of a seemingly negative situation or a lesson we might never have learned otherwise.

Words that steal

If we engage in negative self-talk, we rob ourselves. Some of us may not even realize we have self-talk, but if you pause, you can hear it in your thoughts. When you’re getting ready to do something you’ve never done what do you hear?

• Why bother? It won’t turn out the way you want.
• What makes you think you can do that?
• You’re not qualified to do that.
• Life doesn’t turn out well for people like you.

I’ve known far too many people that said negative things over and over until it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe you’ve heard some of these:

• I never have enough money… and they’re always broke,
• I am sick and tired… and they always are.
• Nothing ever goes right for me…
• I always get sick on my days off…
• I can’t keep a job… 
• I never win at anything…

What this means for you

What would happen if you just started saying not just good things about yourself–but great things? Start with something easy that you can begin today. Maybe you’re trying to improve your health. You might say, I really enjoy exercise. I like eating food that makes me feel good about myself.

If you’re trying to change jobs, or want to start a new business, I’m the kind of person people want to hire. I am a successful business owner.

It may not instantaneously fill your head with all the tools you need that moment. By saying these new words, you may feel like you’re denying reality. What helped me was to consider it a directive to my subconscious to begin changing. It feels weird at first because it’s something new.  It takes a little time for your old self to catch up to the renewed vision of yourself.

What if you could design your own future by the words you choose? What would you be saying about yourself? If you’re going to make something happen with your words, wouldn’t you want to make it something grand? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

• I always have too much money. (Why not?)
• I am healthy and energized.
• Everything I apply myself to works out for me.
• I never get sick.
• I am always in the right place at the right time. 

Try a 30-day challenge and notice what changes you see and what opportunities begin lining up. You might notice classes being offered in your field of interest, or suddenly the perfect mentor appears, or maybe you your dream job has come open on a job board.

Gou can use any of these affirmations or choose one of your own, but I challenge you to try this for just 30 – 60 days. I dare you. Once I saw evidence of the power of words, it changed my whole life and it can work for you too.

Up to the challenge? Drop us a line, we love hearing your comments.  I’ll see you next time!