Negative Self-Talk

Wouldn’t it be great if someone else could reinforce positive messages to help keep us focused on positive thoughts?

Unfortunately we have to learn to do it for ourselves. Is your negative self-talk taking steering you in the wrong direction? Are you even aware how often your thoughts drift toward the negative side of the road?

Everyone has doubts and second-guesses things from time to time, but sometimes negativity becomes a nasty habit.

That’s one of the reasons I go to yoga. I love it when the teacher reminds me to set a positive intention for my practice that day. Sometimes I dedicate the hour to someone who might need some extra positive energy, but often I use it as a chance to practice positive self-talk. I enjoy slowing down and breathing purposefully. With each inhale I breathe in a positive mantra, like ‘patience’, and with each exhale I reinforce some word that reminds me to be kind to myself, like ‘gentleness’.

I’ve worked on eliminating my negative self-talk for so many years now, and I’ve talked about my positive self-talk ‘muscle’ so often at Power Camp that I’m happy to say this way of thinking has become a new habit. I don’t like how it feels when I’m negative to myself. I don’t enjoy it when I hear other people beating themselves up either. It makes me anxious. Today I’m fairly good at catching myself in the moment if/when something negative falls out of my mouth. I try to stop and rephrase my words right then and there. Especially the ‘should’ statements. They don’t serve any purpose.

Give it a try. Next time you hear yourself saying something negative inside your head. Take a TIME OUT. Rephrase your words or thoughts and shift over to the positive side. Allow the happy-feel-good chemicals to enter your bloodstream and cells.

Scroll to Top