The Destruction of Negative Self-Talk & the Rebuilding of Positive Self-Talk
Who we are outwardly is a reflection of our self talk.
Positive or negative, the inward directs the outward.
If our self talk is completely problem focused, we will tear down our own confidence which will plague our life.
- “Today was horrible. I just couldn’t get anything done.”
- “I’m so tired. Today will be an awful day because I didn’t sleep well.”
- “I keep on trying to figure this thing out for work, but it’s out of my wheelhouse. I’ll never figure it out.”
The list of destructive self talk goes on and on and on.
It destroys self esteem and forward momentum in life.
The opposite of negative self talk is obviously positive self talk and positive self talk is similarly the complete opposite for our self esteem and confidence – it builds up both.
- “I didn’t complete my important tasks for today, but I made good progress and I learned new ways to complete them in the future.”
- “I couldn’t sleep well, but today is an opportunity to overcome the setback and accomplish things anyways.”
- “I’m struggling with this thing that’s out of my wheelhouse, but this is an opportunity for me to talk to people who are good at this and learn so I can expand my skill set.”
It helps us accomplish more in the future and it changes our demeanor outwards.
Making the Switch
How do we make the switch from negative self talk to positive self talk?
The answer is simple in concept, but challenging to change at our core.
Always seek out the potential successes in a situation.
Often called “solution focus” or variations of that. Seeking out past AND future successes changes how we think, changes how we act, and completely changes our momentum.
Instead of focusing on the problem that is in the past or the problem that might make the future worse, focus on the successes of the past and the potential successes of the future.
The more we think about, talk about, and write about success – the more it will be engrained in our self talk and our actions.
Find solutions.
Find successes.
Celebrate successes.
Obsess over successes.
It won’t be an overnight change – it will take persistence – but it changes everything when the switch happens.