Tag Archive 'self-talk'

Jun 24 2009

What Are You Saying to Yourself?

Published by Karen under Creating Success

Have you ever listened to your self-talk – all the things you’re telling yourself all day?  I mean really listened. You might be surprised at what you’re saying to yourself. It’s like a conversation going on all the time.

Some are things you’ve been told over the years, many times as a child. A lot of times it can be negative – since those are the things we tend to remember people saying to us. So it’s easy to fall into negative self-talk. Things like – ‘you screwed up again’ or ‘you’ll never be able to do that’. Think about what would happen if your self-talk was positive. Do you think it could change your life? There is considerable evidence that it very much affects your life, both physically and mentally.

Your subconscious mind does not make distinctions between negative and positive thoughts. It treats them both in the same way. So saying “I don’t want to get sick” is the same as saying “I want to get sick” to your subconscious. The subconscious doesn’t hear the negative word. To re-frame your self-talk you would say to yourself “I want to be healthy” or something to that effect. The subconscious mind accepts and regards often-repeated thoughts, statements, or self-talk, as commands. So your subconscious then searchs for ways to make it come true. So your thoughts shape your life – either positively or negatively.

If your self-talk is negative, one of the ways to begin changing it is to write down a list of affirmations. It could be many different topics but it should cover your finances, relationships, spirituality, health  and community.

Now take that list and make some positive statements from it.

Here are some basic guidelines:

  1. Use only positive words to describe what you want.
  2. Be very specific. The clearer you are the easier it is to visualize when you repeat it.
  3. Phrase the affirmation in the present tense. By doing that you begin to see yourself as having already achieved the goal, not at some time in the future.
  4. Keep them short so they’re easy to remember.
  5. Put some emotion and feelings into them. Not just “I am my ideal weight” but rather “I am now my ideal weight and look drop-dead gorgeous in that red dress.” Which one brings up a more vivid mental pictures?
Repeat affirmations several times a day. Starting your day with your affirmations sets the tone for your day and helps you keep focused on those positive elements. When you end your day with your affirmations, the subconscious mind has all night to work on it while you sleep. Repeat affirmations aloud, silently, or by writing them down. The most effective is writing them down. Take just one and concentrate on that for 30 days. Write it on a card and slip it in your pocket. Whenever you reach into your pocket, you’re reminded of that affirmation. Bringing your positive thoughts into your mind on a continual basis will help your mind to search out those ways to bring that affirmation into reality.
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Apr 22 2009

Creating the Life YOU Deserve Begins Today!

Published by Karen under Creating Success

Do you believe you’re creating the life you deserve? Is your belief strong enough that you REALLY believe you not only deserve it but that it’s possible?

Most of us develop “limiting beliefs” as we grow up beginning at a very early age. Think how many times as a child or even as an adult, someone has told you “Oh, you can’t do that!” or “that’s a crazy idea. It will never work.” I know it’s something I’ve experienced over and over again.  Remember a week ago Susan Boyle got on stage to sing – the judges didn’t actually say anything but they certainly looked at her askance. It was easy to read their faces. But she had the belief in herself that said “I Believe In ME!”

Have you thought – when I just get the education or knowledge, I’ll be able to do it. So we spend our time learning or “getting ready”.  Obviously, knowledge is important but if it becomes a limiting belief, it will keep us from moving forward. Many times the best way to gain knowledge, is to begin working toward our goal at the same time we’re going through training in whatever form that takes.

Another “limiting belief” is that you’ve tried and tried and continue to fail.  History has legions of people who failed and quit. It also has legions of people who didn’t perceive those times as failures but rather learning experiences. Most of us have heard the stories about Thomas Edison and his 10,000 attempts to invent a light bulb or Colonel Sanders 1000 attempts to find someone who would believe in his chicken recipe or Steven Spielberg’s 20 years of looking for a way to produce “Shindler’s List”. These people stayed focused on their goals.

There is a great story about Roger Banister and John Landry. Everyone said that the human  body wasn’t capable of running the 4 minute mile – it just wasn’t physically possible. So on the day of the race between these 2 men, there was much anticipation. During most of the race Landry was well ahead of Banister. Going into the last turn, Landry looked back over his left shoulder and didn’t see Banister. In the meantime Banister was passing Landry on the right and handily won the race – in under 4 minutes.  Landry took his eye off his goal (the finish line) and that gave Banister the edge. Interestingly, they raced many times after that day and Landry won everytime. You must keep focused on your goal.

All of these people had enormous obstacles to overcome, probably the biggest being past negative experiences. But they took control of their life. When we have a goal that we truly believe in, we must take control of our emotions, our feelings, our actions and our limiting beliefs and create the life we deserve. 

Easy to say. Hard to do? Well, limiting beliefs manifest themselves in negative self-talk. There are many things we can do to change negative self-talk.  There has been much written about the power of positive thinking with thousands of examples of how people affected their life mentally and physically through changing their beliefs. While ridding yourself of some of your  limiting beliefs can take some time, the methods are fairly simple. For the next 21 days do some or all of the following:

  1. Start your day with a Power Shower –  while you’re showering review your schedule for the day and visualize how great a presentation you’ll do; how that potential client will become say yes; how you’ll win that contract; how you’ll impress your boss with your creative idea.  Shout it out – all your successes for the day.
  2. Read positive or motivation books – there’s thousands to choose from. Just open one up anywhere and read for 30 minutes every morning.
  3. Rewrite your goals daily.
  4. Put a motivational CD in your car so you’ll hear positive messages as you go through your day.
  5. Spend 5 minutes twice a day visualizing yourself achieving your goal – do one of these right before going to sleep and your subconscious will continue working on it while you sleep.

Remember that success is a journey – not a destination.  Continue to study while you’re working toward your goal, not instead of. If you’re stuck and can’t seem to get to where you want to be, stand on your head (figuratively) and look at the situation from a different angle but NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE GOAL.

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