Who do you talk to the most every day? Your spouse? Your children? The boss? Your dog? The answer is that we spend the majority of time talking to ourselves. From the time we wake up in the morning, we have conversations running in our mind.
Are you aware of how those conversations influence your behavior and attitude? We can bring ourselves up or down be successful or fail all based on our self talk. When I hear a friend or client making a derogatory statement about themselves, I say, “I do not like hearing you talk that way about someone that I like and respect.” Their response is usually, “I wasn’t talking about someone else, I was just talking about myself.” My point exactly. When you make a negative comment to yourself, ask if you would ever say that about your best friend. You wouldn’t because you would be aware of how it could negatively impact them. So why don’t we have the same concern and respect for ourselves?
Be aware of the tapes running in your mind. You can reprogram the negative to positive. It will make a change in your attitude and behavior. The first step is to be aware. The second is to ask where did the statement come from? Are you repeating things you heard while growing up or is it more recent? Ask yourself if the statement is absolutely true? Then restate it as a positive.
Find times during the day to give yourself a pep talk. Each time you wash your hands tell yourself something positive. While at work, each time you get out of your chair, use that as a trigger to remember to give yourself some motivation. It takes practice, but over time you will notice the difference.
