短篇英语美文欣赏：7 Steps to Positive Self Talk
Most of us are in constant mental chatter. We talk to ourselves all daylong and, unfortunately, this self talk is frequently negative. Often it is
tainted with guilt about our past or anxiety about our future. This negativity
can destroy any seed of hope that we may otherwise have in striving for our
dreams.
Our actions are inspired by our thoughts. If we can change the way we
think, we can begin to change the actions we take. It is human nature to seek
personal growth; whether financially, emotionally, physically or spiritually.
Practicing positive self talk can help us set in motion actions that will bring
us greater rewards.
The following are seven steps to positive self talk. By following these
steps you will begin to rid your inner conversations of negativity and instead
have empowering thoughts.
1. Eliminate Internal Negative Chatter
The first step is one of awareness. It will be hard to make a change to
positive thinking without being acutely intimate with the thoughts that run
through your mind. Recently, I was amazed to discover deep buried emotions from
negative thoughts that I had for fewer than 10 minutes. Without awareness, I
would have carried the hurt and anger inside. Awareness helped me to bring them
out to the open for me to deal with.
Undoubtedly it will not be easy to make a switch if you have a long history
or negative self talk. Your talk became negative over the years due to various
factors. For instance, if your first grade teacher repeatedly told you that you
were “stupid”, you might believe it to be truly the case. You would find that
your inner chatter would often be filled with talk of “I am so slow” and “it is
so hard to learn”. If you constantly tell yourself such negative stories, your
actions are going to reflect your low self esteem. It will be difficult to get
very far if you are always putting yourself down.
A common negative talk involves telling yourself “I can’t”. When you say to
yourself “I can’t” or “it is too difficult”, you are creating a resistance.
Having such a mental block will prevent you from achieving a task you could
otherwise succeed at.
Anytime you catch yourself saying "I can'...", turn around and challenge
your own claim with, “Why can’t I?” Research shows that most geniuses became the
people they are also because of the hard work they put in. So if you would like
to be successful, you need to start saying “I can” a lot more.
A great method that I have also found useful is to say “Cancel Cancel” each
time I find myself saying something negative, whether in the mind or verbally.
The method works if you sincerely have the intent of becoming a positive
thinker.
2. Positive Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements of a desired outcome or goal. They are
usually short, believable and focused. By repeating them over and over again,
you build inroads into your subconscious mind, opening up the possibility of a
new state of thoughts.
An important step when repeating affirmations is that you need to read your
affirmations aloud with feeling. The mere reading of the words bears no
consequence unless you put some emotions behind them. Of significant fact is
that your subconscious mind takes any orders given in complete faith and after
repeated self talk. So the daily practice of repeating affirmations is
important.
Initially you may be skepticism toward the statement of your positive
affirmation. However, if you follow this simple set of instructions your
skepticism will soon give way to a new set of beliefs and then crystallized into
absolute faith.
3. Positive Scripts
One thing that you may observe is on how easy it is for your mind to build
negative thought upon negative thought. The chatter not only does not stop but
it spins a drama that traps and limits you.
From now on, regularly do this exercise instead. Spin an uplifting story
that runs like a movie script. Some visualization will be helpful. You build on
a story with a positive outline. The longer you can tell this story to yourself
the better. It is also best if you can make this story one about having all your
goals achieved. When you do this, you start to internalize your goals and
dreams, as if they are something that you have already achieved.
4. Replace Negative Influences with positive Ones
It is important that you identify external negative factors in your life
which may be holding your thoughts hostage. For instance, your mental state can
become toxic by being around friends who are negative. If you are not vigilant
enough, you will start to adopt their thoughts as your own. Hence, be alert to
what your negative influences are. If they come from certain friends, limit your
exposure to them as much as you can. Refrain from discussing your plans with
people who will be unsupportive of your dreams and goals.
Instead surround yourself with thoughts and actions from people who will
empower you.
From being uninspired and de-motivated, you will begin to feel uplifted and
driven to greater self growth. The positive energy that they vibrate will start
affecting the self talk that you engage in as well.
5. Present Tense Messages
You may find yourself daunted by the many things you need to do in order to
reach your goals. It just seems overwhelming to become the success that you
secretly desire for. Your mind gets caught up in an endless stream of worry.
What may be helpful is to concentrate on steps you can take in the present.
If you find yourself becoming stuck, stop and say, “What can I do right now?”
Change your internal talk from a future anxiety ridden one to one that is about
the more manageable present. You cannot control what will happen in the future
but you can take the necessary steps now that will build a better tomorrow.
Taking the necessary steps require you to focus your thoughts and inner talk on
Now.
6. Confront Fears
Fear is often what holds you back from your success. You are scared of
taking chances because you fear losing the security that you enjoy now. You try
to convince yourself that you are happy in your current state when in fact, you
are not. Your self talk may sound positive in your attempt to lie to yourself.
But somehow, there is an inner knowing that you are short changing yourself.
Ask yourself what you are afraid of. What can be the worst that can happen?
Take a step-by-step approach in breaking down your fears and see if there is any
way round to looking at things more positively. When you confront your fears,
you will often realize that the worst case scenario is not as bad as you think.
In fact, the benefits of change are worth the risk. Your inner talk begins to
change at this point.
7. Focus on Enjoyable Moments
It is much easier to have a positive attitude if you focus on the enjoyable
moments in life rather than the difficult ones. While there will inevitably be
challenges, you need to remember that life consists of ups and downs and the
good times are forged through the bad.
So choose to fill your mind with positive images and thoughts. Make it a
conscious habit. Simply bring your mind back every time it goes astray in its
thoughts. For a start, if you can be grateful for what you have presently, your
self talk will also change to be in alignment with one of joy. A state of
gratitude does wonders to your psyche.
Conclusion
Replacing self talk from a negative to a more positive one is not going to
happen overnight. If your mind has ingrained habits of thinking negatively, it
will take some work and time. However, if you find yourself often struggling,
unable to achieve your goals and talking yourself down, then you should grit
your teeth and commit to the process of change.
By following the above tips to positive self talk, you will experience an
improvement in the quality of your life. The rewards are plentiful with greater
Happiness, peace and joy. Best of all, you feel empowered. With the change in
energy, you are more likely to reach your highest potential and achieve
success.
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