Do you often speak words of encouragement to yourself? If you said no, you are in the majority, most of us do not. The statistics say that seventy percent of what we think is negative.
Have you ever thought about the fact that any change we want in our life must start in our minds? Also, did you realize change begins on the inside, not the outside of us? So, to become more positive, start with your thoughts, not your feelings or your behavior.
Shad Helmstetter, author of “What To Say When You Talk to Yourself says, “Whatever “thoughts” you have programmed into yourself, or have allowed others to program into you, is affecting, directing or controlling everything about you.”
“Your thoughts become your words, and your words become your actions.”
Do you limit your happiness and success in life because you have never realized the importance of your words? And also, that includes the continual conversation going on in your head, also known as mental chatter?
We talk to ourselves all day and that self-talk can be positive or negative. Our words can create guilt, anxiety, and destroy our seeds of hope. If we can change how we think, we will see it in our beliefs and actions.
Let’s take a look at how we can change our words and consequently change our actions. The following steps will help you purge negative self-talk and embrace empowering thoughts that uplift you.
“The inner speech, your thoughts, can cause you to be rich or poor, loved or unloved, happy or unhappy, attractive or unattractive, powerful or weak.” ~ Ralph Charell
7 Ways to Speak Words of Encouragement
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Eliminate Negative Chatter
Awareness is the first step. It won’t be easy to become a positive thinker if we aren’t aware of our thoughts. We cannot underestimate the power that negative thinking holds over us. Awareness will allow us to process these thoughts, and then we can choose to change them.
As far back as our childhood, we may have had a teacher or caretaker who consistently told you you’d never amount to anything. It was a long time ago, but we often internalize these thoughts and allow them to influence our self-talk for years. When we find ourselves indulging in negative chatter, STOP IT and replace it with something positive.
7 Simple Ways to Speak Words of Encouragement to Yourself Click To Tweet-
Positive Affirmations
An affirmation is a positive statement. It should be focused, short, and believable. When we consistently speak words of encouragement, we create inroads in our subconscious mind, unlocking our ability to think positively.
When we repeat these affirmations, be bold, look yourself in the eye, and say it loud and proud. We might not always be in a position to repeat our affirmations aloud, so take the opportunity wherever possible.
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A Positive Script
It’s easy to compound negative thinking. Before long, it spirals out of control and can trap us in limited situations. But instead, choose to build positive thoughts on optimistic beliefs. The best way to do that is by creating a specific script.
It is possible to choose your future according to research in neuroplasticity and self-talk; we can do just that. It’s not about what’s happened in our life that will determine our future. It’s about what we choose to do next, and using our self-talk is the vehicle that can get us there.
According to the research, we now know our futures are not only up to what happened to us but how we choose to “think about it.” We can choose a better tomorrow, using our mental programs to take us to a better outcome. We can create a new story for ourselves that reinforces a positive result.
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Positive Replaces Negative
Identify negative influences and factors in your life and replace them with positive ones. For example, if you spend time with people who make you feel negative about yourself, don’t spend time with them. When certain people are unsupportive of your hopes and dreams, choose not to share that with them.
Be more positive about yourself. Replace the cannot’s with “I can do this.” Make a conscious effort to change the old programming. We can give new specific, new productive directions to our minds. We CAN defeat our negative thinking.
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Present Tense
Life can be daunting, especially when we are chasing dreams and goals. It can be overwhelming. It’s easy to slip into a stream of anxiety and worry. Focus on what we can do now. Live in the present moment.
Living in the now is challenging today. We are always encouraged to think about the future or dwell on the past. But the present moment is is the only time we can choose to make a change.
Practice saying specific, present tense messages to ourselves. Something like, “ I choose to make this a great day,” “ I am well able to solve any situation that comes my way.” We can choose to inspire ourselves, so we need to become mindful of our self-talk.
Each time an opportunity comes up, we can practice rephrasing our thoughts. Become more optimistic when talking to ourselves and others. The goal of positive self-talk is to be mindful of all our thoughts and aware of the importance of what we say to ourselves.
“Don’t Be A Victim of Negative Self-Talk Remember Who Is listening” ~ Bob Proctor
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Confront Your Fears
Fear holds us back, and if we are afraid of taking a risk, it’s likely because we’re scared of losing our security. We convince ourselves that we’re happy as we are. But we know deep down that isn’t the case.
Sometimes, fear comes from not knowing much about the thing we fear. Keep in mind that just because something feels scary, it doesn’t mean that it is risky. By confronting our fears – we’ll realize that what we think is the worst-case scenario is unlikely.
Create an action plan made up of small steps. Gradually facing our fears in small doses may help us to decrease our overwhelm and anxiety. By practicing, we can let our brain become accustomed to what we fear. Using imagined exposure and incremental steps, we can imagine a new outcome.
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Enjoy
It’s easier to be positive when we remain focused on life’s positives. Life is full of change, and we’re going to experience some good and some bad. The key is to stay focused on the good. When we feel negatives creeping in, we can turn our minds back to all the memories we enjoy.
Joy is everywhere; so grab hold of it. Practicing self-talk that uplifts you won’t happen overnight. It takes time to overcome bad habits, and negative self-talk is just that. However, with time and effort, we will become a positive self-talker.
Final Thoughts
Learning to manage and direct our mind is one of the most significant challenges we will ever face. To frequently speak words of encouragement is one way we can control our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. We can do so much if we choose to break through the wall standing between ourselves and what we would like to achieve.
Out self-talk can form our attitudes, emotions, and actions to get us where we want to be and do. We can take these seven steps and start today to reframe our thinking. Choose to be more positive. It takes consistent repetition to reprogram the negative beliefs that someone else gave us.
When we talk to ourselves we can choose to use the right words and use them. We can make our self-talk positive an everyday, unconscious, self-directing habit. Speak in a kind, loving, positive way. When we do, we will give ourselves a happier, more productive life.
These ideas remind me of this little poem:
Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
The outcome is OUR CHOICE!
I am Shirley Noah, an internationally known stress expert and entrepreneur. I would love to connect further with you to help you improve your health and wellbeing. If you are interested in learning more about how to improve your self-talk, please take a look at my popular E-Course Optimize Your Self-Talk
And, feel free to share this post with your friends and colleagues!
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