Author : Liz Labrum
Self-talk is the inner chatter that accompanies us in most of our waking moments Your self-talk can be a powerful aid to your performance, or it can be destructive
What do you say when you talk to yourself? If you’re like many of us, your self-talk is a caustic mixture of judgements, complaints, and verbal abuse, in the form of “tapes” – mental recordings – that you’ve imprinted on your mind and play over and over again No wonder you feel down and depressed
However, you can change the tapes you play, and your self-talk, as soon as you become aware of what you’re saying to yourself Changing your self-talk will turbo-charge your life and enhance your performance in everything you do
You can change your self-talk right now Let’s try a little test Say to yourself, silently or aloud: “That was a stupid thing to say How could I say _________ (pick any verbal blunder you can remember) I’m so stupid ”
How do you feel? Perhaps you feel sad, or anxious Take a moment to track your emotions in your body Perhaps you have a sinking feeling in your tummy, or your face is becoming hot Your self-talk immediately affected your body, your mental state and your emotions
Now let’s try some positive self-talk Take a couple of deep breaths, smile, and say to yourself, aloud or silently: “I’m happy, strong and confident ”
How do you feel now? Feel your emotions in your body Repeat the words “I’m happy, strong and confident” several times and keep smiling as you do so You felt an emotional lift, didn’t you?
You can give yourself an emotional boost at any time, just by changing your self-talk If you make it a habit to repeat motivating self-talk to yourself, not only will you feel better, but you’ll perform better in everything you do
Self-talk is powerful, and it’s free It’s the best thing you can do for yourself
Erase old self-talk tapes: make new tapes
Affirmations are a form of self-talk, and you can create your own affirmations to use as self-talk However, the best way to change your old self-talk tapes, is to make a new tape every time you catch yourself replaying an old tape
For example, if you hear yourself saying: “I’ll never get this project done No one’s helping me with it, I’m always left to do the hard work and others get the credit ”
Change your self-talk immediately Write down your new self-talk tape which will over time erase the old self-talk tape: “This project’s interesting I’m going to have fun working with it I’ll ask ___ and ___ for their input right away I’m taking charge of this project, it will be done in no time, and I’ll claim the credit because I deserve it ”
Now repeat your new self-talk to yourself as often as you need to, particularly as soon as you can hear any faint whispers of the old self talk Boost the new tape with affirmations, like: “I’m confident, capable and strong I CAN do this!”
Start today: use powerful self-talk to enhance your performance in everything you do
Perform at your best. Liz Labrum is a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (nlp) and hypnosis. Visitwww.Think-RightNow.com for more information on performance-enhancing workshops, ebooks and blog. Learn how to boost your career, increase your energy, and achieve your personal best.
Syndication Source: Thought Search Articles