Empower Yourself With Positive Self Talk
Everyone has a little voice inside their head. The old saying goes, you have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. Both consistently advise you on what to do, where to go, and whom to surround yourself with.
This is a literal depiction of self-talk. Self-talk is “ talk or thoughts directed at oneself” Self-talk can be described as your internal dialogue and can be positive or negative. We will outline positive self-talk, why it is good for you, how it works, and how to utilise it in everyday life.
Positive Self-Talk Has Benefits
Positive self-talk leads to positive thinking and optimism. This, in turn, provides a more hopeful, healthy, and happy outlook on life.
Positive self-talk is crucial to athletes, performers, and high-level executives. It allows the person to push past their breaking point and make essential and powerful decisions without fear or worry.
Positive self-talk and a general sense of optimism can also lead to health benefits and better relationships. Some health benefits of positive self-talk are listed below:
- Increased youthfulness and energy
- Better quality of life
- More satisfaction
- Higher immune function
- Reduced pain
- Increased cardiovascular health
- Reduced risk of death
- Less stress
Learning Positive Self-Talk
Positive self-talk is a skill that must be practised and cultivated. The first step in doing that is to identify negative thinking. Negative thinking commonly comes in four different categories:
- Personalising: This is when you constantly blame yourself for absolutely everything.
- Magnifying: This is when you ignore a situation’s positive aspects and zero in on the negative.
- Catastrophizing: This is when you are in a constant state of thinking and expecting the worst. You cannot see reason or logic and can only focus on what you fear is the inevitable doom and gloom to come.
- Polarising: This is seeing the entire world as one extreme or the other with no middle ground. You may see everything as black or white or good or bad.
- You can turn that frown upside down as you understand and identify negative thinking. It will take time, patience, and effort, but it can be done.
Positive Self-Talk Examples?
Below are some examples of turning negative self-talk into positive self-talk.
- Negative Self-Talk: I embarrassed myself by failing
Positive Self-Talk: I dared to try, and I am proud of myself for that
- Negative Self-Talk: There is absolutely no way this will work
Positive Self-Talk: I will try my very best and see if I can make this work
- Negative Self-Talk: I’m out of shape and overweight. There’s no point in even bothering.
Positive Self-Talk: I want to get healthier for myself. Every small step is a step in the right direction.
Positive Self-Talk In Daily Life
Positive self-talk does not come naturally to most people. Negativity is usually easier to believe and promote. As we discussed earlier, positive self-talk takes much practice. Making positive self-talk a habit will take time and effort. Try implementing these tips and tricks into your daily life.
- Check Your Feelings: Take time to stop and evaluate your self-talk throughout the day. We are constantly engaged in self-talk, and it is a good idea to check in with ourselves. If your self-talk is becoming or has been negative that day, decide to change it for the rest of the day.
- Find Humor: Tension, stress, and bad vibes can be quickly diminished with laughter. If you need a boost of positive self-talk confidence, watch a funny video or a quick standup comedy routine. You’ll be smiling and laughing in no time, and it’s tough to have negative self-talk if you’re in a good mood.
- Avoid Negative Self-Talk Triggers: No one is perfect, and everyone will be triggered into negative situations and negative self-talk from time to time. Pinpoint different experiences, moments, places, and people who drum up negative self-talk. Avoid these if possible; if you can’t, anticipate what will happen and be prepared to switch your negative self-talk to positive.
