< Go Back Positive self-talk helps you get more out of life Posted: Feb 3, 2021Most of us have a lot of chatter going on in our minds and much of it is negative, resulting in a feeling of "I can't."
Obviously, this isn't good if we're trying to get the most out of our lives. If you can't tame your self-talk, life is much more difficult. However, if you create a mental environment full of positive self-talk, you'll be happier and much more successful.
These techniques will help you get your negative self-talk under control and foster a positive mental environment instead:
1. Learn to focus on what you're doing. At all times, make an effort to only think about what you're currently doing. In spite of what many people believe, we can only effectively think about one thing at a time. However, we are very good at rapidly switching back and forth between multiple items.
2. Recognize negative thoughts. No matter how good your focus is, there will still be times that negative thoughts make their way into your consciousness. The trick is to recognize that it's happening and then calmly turn your thoughts back to your current task.
3. Take control. If you're doing an activity that lends itself to a wandering mind, like driving down the motorway for 300 miles, you can intentionally focus your thoughts on positive self-talk. A good place to start would be the opposite of the negative self-talk that you too often experience. Your positive self-talk becomes the truth over time.
4. Think of times the opposite is true. So the next time you think, "I'm not good at being sociable, think about the times in your life when you were sociable. Strive to find proof of the opposite and remind yourself of those times every time the negative self-talk pops up.
Negative self-talk is extremely common but it's largely just a bad habit. You can control your thoughts. Have the intention of focusing on the task at hand and replace the negative self-talk with positive. It takes time, but it really is that simple.
This extract is reproduced with thanks from Angie Climer's excellent e-book - 'Stuck in a Rut?: Top 8 Strategies for Getting More out of Your Life''
