People who talk to themselves are usually lumped with the insane. It feels awkward to stumble across someone having a conversation with themselves.
But did you know that self-talk, when done properly, can actually carry a positive benefit?
In his book The Magic of Believing, Claude Bristol discussed this occurrence. He witnessed an inebriated man stare into a mirror and give himself a firm talking to before a speech; that man not only delivered his speech successfully but acted sober for the rest of the night.
That incident gained Bristol’s attention. He went on to experiment with the phenomena, sharing multiple positive results in his book.
As a woman who talks to herself on a daily basis, repeating reminders to aid memory or just verbally working through a task as I complete it I found the information fascinating. Could I use self-talk as a tool to improve my life even more?
I decided to find out.
My first step was to start paying attention to the stories I was already telling myself. To my dismay I discovered myself repeating a single phrase:
I am tired.
During 2018 I’d noticed an overwhelming exhaustion; I’d changed my diet, began to take vitamins, and even had a massive amount of dental work completed out of concern for my health due to this issue. While I had regained a considerable amount of energy due to the changes I’d made, I still suffered from a tiredness that I could not eliminate. Could that tiredness be the result of repeating a single phrase?
I decided to find out.
Every time I caught myself repeating the phrase I started to catch myself. I would tell myself that it was untrue; I had energy to spare for that tasks I wanted to accomplish. I began to remind myself that I am in the prime of my life as I would recall memories of all of the times I’ve worked circles around the young pups I’ve been paired with at work over the years.
To my surprise, things began to change.
I found myself humming in contentment as I tidied the shelves at work. I noticed my home getting cleaner as I puttered more. I checked off more and more tasks from my daily lists with each passing day.
Even more amazing, just a few simple words before I fall asleep at night now have me awakening before the alarm clock buzzes.
I highly recommend that you try it. Listen to the words you are telling yourself as you go through your day. When you catch yourself repeating negative phrases, change them into something positive.
You can amplify the effect of this phenomenon. Look into a mirror, focusing upon your eyes as you tell yourself a new story. Tell yourself that you are beautiful. Remind yourself that you are energetic. You are so much smarter than the average bear; you have the skills and the ability to do whatever it is you want to accomplish that day.
Then when you go to bed at night, just before you nod off, tell yourself that you are going to sleep soundly and wake up refreshed before the alarm clock begins to blare.
Change the stories that you tell yourself. Then watch your new story unfold.
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