It’s amazing how the talk inside of our heads affects us. Just yesterday I caught myself saying to myself, “I have to go to the dump today.” I’ve been putting off this simple task for almost a week now. Want to know why? It takes a whole 10 minutes out of my schedule to drive there and back. What a terrible inconvenience! (kidding, of course!)
The huge up-side to this is that by going to the dump our family saves $30 each month. So why is it so hard to get myself there every week? I’m convinced that much of it has to do with my self-talk. I’m learning that my self-talk has shaped the way I feel and behave. So, instead of saying “I have to go to the dump” I’ve replaced it with “I get to help my family save $30 every month.” This little change makes it much easier for me to load up our vehicle with the trash cans and much more likely that I’ll get this task accomplished.
Just by changing the way I talk to myself I’ve made this simple task something that I enjoy doing. Who wouldn’t want to save their family money?? I’m choosing to focus on the positive rather than the negative and it’s made all the difference.
Listen to your own self-talk this week and make a list of what you find yourself saying to yourself. Who knows, you might even be saying some of it out loud! Do you notice some negative statements that you could replace with something positive? If so, replace it and repeat it to yourself the next time you find yourself “stuck”. This could be the little thing that makes a BIG difference in your life!
Good idea, however, I have to say that whenever I catch myself sub-vocalizing thoughts, I usually just stop myself and move on, because I already knew where I was going with it anyway, and I have precious few brain cells to waste on unnecessary conversation.
Larry repeat after me, “I get to go and spend Christmas with Jarret and Jenn and Kendall and JJ.”
Great thoughts about self-talk, I am guilty of what you are talking about, all too often.
Becoming more aware of the things we say to ourselves gives us the opportunity to change those thoughts that don’t serve us and to create new ones. Positive thoughts leave us feeling good about things whereas negative thoughts often times makes us feel anxious or afraid. The beauty of it is that we have a choice!
Great article!
Denise