The Most Important Communication You Will Ever Have

The most important communication you will ever have is with yourself. Your “self-talk soundtrack” plays relentlessly in your head 24/7, 365 days a year. It will either make you or break you.

You may be hearing negative self-talk from years ago that cuts your self-confidence and leads you to doubt your skills, talents, and self-worth. Do these sound familiar? “I’m no good at bowling; my brother  was always a great bowler.”  “Don’t drive downtown, you always get lost, you have no sense of direction.”  “Everyone is dressed in formal clothes. I should have worn my navy suit. I’m not as good as they are.”

The messages we hear in our heads are what we come to believe. Positive self-talk leads to “Can-Do” empowering attitudes.

Here are 5 Tips to Improving Your Self-Talk:

1-Write a list of 10-20 affirmations and encouraging statements to replace the negative ones.

2- Be aware of the poisonous messages and immediately replace them with positive affirmations. Refuse to feed the voice of the Gremlin. By the way, the Gremlin is always prepared to shout the loudest and grab your attention. The key is to literally turn down and silence his ugly voice. 

3- Acknowledge (out loud if necessary) that you are hearing the negative thought and you are dismissing your Gremlin. Simply state in a powerful voice: “Thank you but I don’t believe you.” Then focus on something more upbeat.

4-Avoid repeating your negative self-talk in conversations with others. This will only drag you down.

5- Practice for 21 days.That’s how long it takes to form a new habit.

Self-confidence is an “inside job.” So is self-talk. A book that’s helped me with this challenge is titled “What to Say When You Talk to Your Self” by Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D.

Improving your self-talk is an ongoing process that begins with awareness. Off you go…

Tagged as: Attitude, Communication, self talk, Self-Confidence, Shad Helmstetter