Consciously or unconsciously, everyone mumbles or talks to himself. Things that are said can sometimes be negative or positive. If you use negative words more than positive ones, you should start reducing this habit because your inner critic can affect your mental state. Thoughts are the source of emotions and moods. That’s why what you say to yourself can either destroy or uplift you. The words you say affect how you feel about yourself and how to respond to events in life. If you want to live a calmer and more peaceful life, you should have more positive self talk than negative self talk. This article will share the best tips for transforming that negative voice in your head into positive self talk.
What is Positive Self Talk?
Positive self talk is a dialogue with oneself using positive sentences. Even though you can physically hear it in the ear, positive self talk can affect your thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Each of us has an inner voice that we always hear. Self talk has a significant role in mental strength because humans are prone to remembering and saying negative things to themselves. If what we say to ourselves is negative, that can be more dangerous than the bad things we experience.
Have you ever noticed yourself crying or feeling angry after negative thoughts are surfacing in your mind? Have you also been aware that nothing wrong is happening at that moment other than a running wild mind?
Positive self talk helps you to be more focused on seeing the good side of yourself. A simple form of loving yourself can start from appreciating and motivating yourself. You can realize this self-love by beginning to say positive words to yourself and replacing negative sentences such as “why am I not good enough“. Examples of positive self talk include “I will,” “I am strong,” “I will work hard and never give up,” and other positive words.
Benefits of Positive Self talk
Positive self talk is proven to have a significant role in one’s performance and daily life. Below we list some of the benefits you can obtain from positive self talk.
1. Increases self-confidence
Approaching life with positive thinking is excellent for building confidence. People with high self-esteem have a better chance of achieving their goals. Studies show that optimistic people are more likely to be promoted, win elections, and even live longer. Also, they’re better able to recover quickly from difficult life experiences.
Positive self talk can help you feel confident. Self-confidence certainly influences the success of your career and life. Success happens because you believe in things that you want to achieve. Your thinking can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ll subconsciously take actions based on your thinking, which leads to the result you get. Try to recite a few positive affirmations in front of the mirror when you start your day to raise your spirits and confidence.
2. Fostering an optimistic attitude toward the future
Next, in addition to self-confidence, positive self talk can foster an upbeat attitude towards your future. By having an optimistic outlook, you will be more eager to achieve your goals and dreams for the future. It gives a sense of purpose in your life. Martin Seligman reminds people in his book Learned Optimism that anyone can learn to become more optimistic even if they have previously tended to be more pessimistic. The benefits of optimism far outweigh those of pessimism. Ultimately, pessimism is what helped our ancestors survive, but their world and the one we live in today are drastically different. In today’s world, optimism will serve you better. And with positive self talk, you can slowly transform to become more optimistic by rewiring the brain.
3. Build mental strength
Various studies have shown that people who do positive self talk tend to be mentally stronger. This means that they are more likely to avoid anxiety, stress, and depression. Also, mentally strong people can think clearly in the face of difficulties or challenges they are experiencing. This makes them not easily collapsed when they get a trial.
4. Exploring Self Potential
Have you ever been afraid to try something new because you weren’t considered talented enough? Or rejecting a new position at work for fear of failure? Positive self talk will encourage and support you to unlock your potential and help you rise when you experience failure.
Instead of saying, “I’m not talented enough,” try changing your perspective to, “Maybe this is my chance to learn and develop.” Positive self talk is one of the best self compassion exercises to try to explore your own potential.
5. Help you see the positive side of events
Positive self talk doesn’t mean lying to yourself. This method is done so that someone is accustomed to seeing all events in a positive light.
For example, when a bad event happened because of your mistake, doing positive self talk will help you see the event’s positive side. In the future, you can learn from your mistakes and do better instead of stopping by and regretting what happened.
6. Improve your quality of life
If you get used to positive self talk, then the quality of your life will improve. Increasing quality of life is usually indicated by positive behavior, like having high self-esteem and being able to respect yourself more.
A positive person’s character also tends to be optimistic, has hope, and strives to achieve these expectations. People who have a quality life will also feel peace wherever they are. With this increased quality of life, it will be easier for you to achieve what you want. Life goals also become easier to achieve.
7. Maintain overall physical health
Apart from maintaining mental health and improving the quality of life, positive self talk also positively impacts your physical health. This habit makes the body fitter and prevents you from getting cardiovascular disease. Also, the body’s immune system can be more robust by frequently doing positive self talk. If you’re looking for self care ideas, this is one of the simplest to practice.
8. Have positive perspectives
Negative aspects of life are inevitable. However, by regularly implementing positive self talk, you will have a positive perspective on life. You can help you be wiser in dealing with problems and can determine steps to overcome them.
How to practice positive self talk
The inner dialogue in the form of positive self talk must be practiced in everyday life. To make it happen, here are several ways you can use:
1. Put off all forms of negativity
Thoughts are a precursor to feelings. When you repeat them many times, they form a belief mindset and be embedded in your personality. When you think negatively about yourself, that thought will control you.
Start paying attention to your thoughts from time to time. Analyze your thoughts that form attitudes towards your life events and choose only good ones and focus your attention on them. It will be easier for you to train yourself to think positively by stripping off all negative forms.
2. Associate yourself with positive people
It is true that when you hang out with a perfume seller, you will smell good too. Likewise, when accustomed to hanging out with positive people accustomed to thinking optimistically, positive self talk can get even greater validation. So, creating boundaries with people who have negative attitudes will help you have happier days.
3. Be grateful
According to a study, expressions of gratitude play an essential role in improving the welfare of life. Because with gratitude, a person can ignore negative feelings or thoughts and continue to respect themselves. Therefore, from now on, try to find things you can be grateful for every day. These things will remind you of how important you are. Thus, change brain function in a positive direction.
4. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones
When you become aware of a negative thought, give it a positive effect. For example, if your self talk tells you, I will never get a promotion or be late for work again. Remove such negative thoughts. Then, you can rethink it into a more positive message.
To help you focus on how you can avoid this behavior again, here are some things you can do to replace your negative thoughts with positive ones.
- Describe yourself and situations using more gentle words. For example, instead of thinking, “I don’t want to be late,” replace that thought with “I don’t like being late.”
- Remove restrictions in self talk: “I can’t win this case” or “I can’t sell to this customer.”
Note that self-limiting statements are not good. They not only increase your stress in a given situation but paralyze the will to seek a solution to the problem.
Also, you can replace your negative thoughts with questions. This will put you in the right frame of mind to find solutions to the problem. For example, ask yourself: what can I do to get this client? Or how can I win in this case? Such questions give more rights and opportunities.
5. Find the things that make you happy when you fail
When things don’t go the way you expect, always try to find positive things that you can feel. For example, as a writer, we often experience rejection of works. Look at this as a way to motivate yourself to improve the quality of your writing. Turn every challenge into an opportunity. That way, you will have better confidence in facing other challenges in life.
6. Always do positive affirmations
The way to strengthen positive self talk in your mind is to give positive affirmations. Sometimes, this can be triggered by looking at inspiring words or images. Just put this positive affirmation source in a frequently visited place such as your room, desk, or notebook on your cellphone. That way, you will be helped in forming a positive mindset daily.
Conclusion
Positive self talk can have a good effect on mental and physical health and improve your life quality. However, keep in mind, this habit needs to be practiced and must be done consistently. It does not just happen. If you find it challenging to apply this and are still overwhelmed by negative thoughts, don’t be shy to ask psychologists and psychiatrists for help. That way, you can get the proper treatment to overcome it.
