 | Cartoonists have often rendered our inner voice as an angel sitting on one shoulder while a devil sits on the other. When it comes time to make a decision - especially one where we have a choice to either do the right or wrong thing - the angel tries to persuade us to make the correct choice while the devil tempts us to evil. Their depictions are meant to entertain and possibly cause us to chuckle. But the truth of an inner voice having influence upon our decisions and actions does not reside only in the imagination of cartoonists. Many have written and lectured on the value of positive thinking. Others have expanded on that idea by encouraging their readers/listeners to put that positive |
thinking into words. As Dr Shad Helmstetter, author of What to Say When You Talk to Yourself, communicated, it is not enough to simply change our thinking from negative to positive. In order for positive thinking to truly take hold in our lives and have a productive effect, those positive thoughts must be put into words. By vocalizing our positive beliefs about ourselves we can take advantage of the phenomenon Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, called "auto suggestion." By repeating positive beliefs about ourselves, our skills, abilities and our circumstances, we can shape our subconscious mind which can have a tremendously positive effect on our thinking and performance.
The problem most of us face, according to Helmstetter is that up to 77% of our self-talk is negative. Our inner voice is telling us we can't do something or that our ideas and dreams are impractical and or unattainable. That message is repeated over and over again in our heads until, after a while, we believe it. Then, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We limit our own happiness, satisfaction and success in life because our inner voice has convinced us we either don't deserve, or are not capable of, attaining anything better.
The good news is we have the power to change the language of our inner voice. We can make a conscious choice to eradicate the negative statements that weigh us down and replace them with positive ones. Just as those negative thoughts and statements are certain to create equally negative results in our lives, positive ones can affect us in a constructive way by leading us to become more optimistic and confident.
Two simple things you can begin doing today to take control of your inner voice and harness it for good. First, write out a few positive, encouraging things you can say to yourself. Write them on a card or memorize them and read or repeat them to yourself several times throughout the day. Do this for at least three weeks and you will discover that your subconscious has accepted those statements as truth. Second, whenever your inner voice speaks with negative thoughts or promotes a defeatist attitude, consciously (and if possible - out loud) stop what you doing and tell your inner voice it is wrong. Challenge the negativity and verbally tell yourself the positive opposite of what your inner voice has just expressed. Again, do this for at least three weeks and you will be well on your way to eradicating the negative self-talk that may be the last obstacle between where you are today and where you desire to be tomorrow.
The problem most of us face, according to Helmstetter is that up to 77% of our self-talk is negative. Our inner voice is telling us we can't do something or that our ideas and dreams are impractical and or unattainable. That message is repeated over and over again in our heads until, after a while, we believe it. Then, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We limit our own happiness, satisfaction and success in life because our inner voice has convinced us we either don't deserve, or are not capable of, attaining anything better.
The good news is we have the power to change the language of our inner voice. We can make a conscious choice to eradicate the negative statements that weigh us down and replace them with positive ones. Just as those negative thoughts and statements are certain to create equally negative results in our lives, positive ones can affect us in a constructive way by leading us to become more optimistic and confident.
Two simple things you can begin doing today to take control of your inner voice and harness it for good. First, write out a few positive, encouraging things you can say to yourself. Write them on a card or memorize them and read or repeat them to yourself several times throughout the day. Do this for at least three weeks and you will discover that your subconscious has accepted those statements as truth. Second, whenever your inner voice speaks with negative thoughts or promotes a defeatist attitude, consciously (and if possible - out loud) stop what you doing and tell your inner voice it is wrong. Challenge the negativity and verbally tell yourself the positive opposite of what your inner voice has just expressed. Again, do this for at least three weeks and you will be well on your way to eradicating the negative self-talk that may be the last obstacle between where you are today and where you desire to be tomorrow.
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