Listen and learn
Gain some perspective and spend a few days examining your self-talk. Are you critical or kind? Are you showing yourself empathy?
READ PART ONE HERE: #FreshTake: How to use positive self-talk
A good test is to ask yourself if you would say the very same things to a friend. You will find more often than not; that you wouldn’t dare. In order to change your self-talk from negative to positive, it is good to know just how negative you are.
Write down the things that you frequently say to yourself. Identify patterns and recognise the impact they may have on your behaviour. After all, they say the first step in solving a problem is admitting that you have one.
Language matters
So it’s not only what you say to yourself, but also the language that you use. If you want to improve your positive self-talk try referring to yourself in the third person, so instead of using ‘I’ or ‘me’ rather use ‘he’ or ‘she’ or, even better, call yourself by your name.
SEE THIS: #FreshTake: Are you an insecure mess?
This will help you distance yourself from your own experiences when reflecting on our life. Another trick to try is naming the negative thoughts, which allows you to distance yourself from them in order to think more objectively about your feelings and how you going to respond. Take the first steps, your confidence will thank you later!
ALSO READ: #FreshTake: Are you the journey or the destination?
Part three to follow next week.
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