
Monique Wilson-Edwards
Life, Personal Development Coach
Expertise in several areas but all combined in one. Experience has been gained from personal circums…
You may not know it, but when you dwell on negative memories or a bad outlook, you engage in self-talk. What is it and how do you change it?
Are you having negative thoughts about your work or career? You may not know it, but when you dwell on negative memories or a bad outlook on your future, you engage in self-talk.
If you’ve ever thought that your education was a waste of time or you feel stressed that you haven’t landed your dream job yet, then your thoughts might be getting you down. You might feel down or lack confidence because of those negative thoughts.
Let’s take some time to look at self-talk and how it can bring awareness to your habits. Below, you’ll learn how to identify self-talk and how it can hold you back. But you’ll also learn how to use self-talk to your advantage – both at home and at work.
Book a call with one of our life coaches today to discuss how self-talk affects you
Life, Personal Development Coach
Expertise in several areas but all combined in one. Experience has been gained from personal circums…
Career, Personal Development, Life Coach
I am a career and life coach, passionate about working with people and making connection with them. …
Career, Life, Personal Development Coach
I am an experienced coach and group facilitator, holding a Professional coaching diploma from an ICF…
Self-talk is an inner dialogue in your mind. It’s the voice inside your head that often dwells in the past and keeps your mind focused on fear, stress or anxiety.
Ekhart Tolle, a leading author and thinker in this field of study says that there are actually two versions of your self in your head.
Tolle says that you are not your thoughts. Your thoughts can bring you down. But there is a version of you within your mind that’s distinct from the one that only focuses on unhappiness and anxiety. Your job is to separate the two versions and bring the positive one to the forefront of your consciousness.
The concept of self-talk sounds grim and uncontrollable. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. That’s because it can be positive too if you know how to unlock it.
While Tolle views self-talk as a negative force in our lives, he does admit there’s a silver lining: the realisation that there are two selves in our mind means that we can overcome the negative dialogue in our heads. That realisation can bring fearlessness and passion to our lives.
“Thinking can be a powerful and wonderful tool. It only becomes an affliction if we derive our sense of who we are from this dream of thought” – Eckhart Tolle
Bruce Pulver, the author, speaker and career advice guru focuses on the hugely positive impact that self-talk and words can have on your personal life and your career trajectory.
Powerful, happy and inspirational words can boost your outlook. When you’re down or have to overcome obstacles, focusing on words like STRONG and GREAT are good ways to get out of a rut, says Pulver.
On top of that, you can interpret words positively so they have lasting impacts. Words that normally have a negative connotation, like FEAR, can actually be interpreted positively.
For example, you can think of fear as something that holds you back because you’re afraid to fail. But you can also think of it as the rocket fuel for your energy and resilience. Fear can empower you to overcome your obstacles. The same word, spun in different ways, can have a huge impact on your inner dialogue. Sometimes it’s hard to identify self-talk, and you might need help from someone, for example, a friend or a life coach.
To welcome a more nonjudgmental space into your life, here are some things for you to try:
It’s important to use what you learn about self-talk in practical ways to positively impact your career. Always try to be realistic about how you think of your future. Positive self-talk can be an important influence but it can also lead to illusion.
Try to stay away from the trap of convincing yourself that all your wildest dreams can come true. You can’t become a celebrity with a billion-dollar brand overnight. But you can set manageable and realistic aspirations and empower yourself to achieve your goals through control of your self-talk.
Eckhart Tolle explains that you just have to find a balance between thinking in the present and the future. Thinking about your future is a mental projection. You can project happiness in your future but you also have to find a balance between the real moments in your life and the psychological ones that exist only in your mind.
By bringing awareness to your self-talk, mastering your outlook and using some of the tips we included here, you’ll be well on your way to unlocking new avenues – in your personal life and in your career path.
Book a video call with one of our life coaches today to find out how you can manage self-talk better, and learn other methods for empowering yourself.
Book a call with one of our life coaches today
Career, Personal Development, Life Coach
I am a career and life coach, passionate about working with people and making connection with them. …
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