Selftalk.

Do you talk to yourself? Inward or out loud? Or maybe both. Well we all do it; it is called thinking. My mother used to say that if you talk to yourself out loud you had money in the bank. As hard as I tried, I never did get that bank account to get bigger by talking.

The point, of course, is not whether you talk to yourself, it is  WHAT you say and HOW you say it.

Your unconscious mind is listening and reacting to every internal comment, even those you don’t intent. This means that everything you say to yourself becomes a suggestion as powerful as any hypnotist could make. It has been said that the quality of your life depends on the quality of your communication with yourself.

So, choose WHAT you say to yourself. Saying or hearing yourself say how well you are doing, how intelligent, capable you are, puts you in a positive state of mind. Telling yourself all the things that are wrong with you leads to you know where.

You can also choose HOW you say it. The tone, speed, loudness, rhythm of your voice is more important than the actual words. That is why humming to yourself softly is soothing. Remember how we “talk” to babies and the effect that has. Your mind reacts as if the sounds in your head were real.

Just like you can edit the pictures and movies in your head, so you can edit your self talk. So, change your tone of voice and the content. Does calling yourself a dummy on the golf course really improve your swing. How about: that didn’t work, what can I do differently- in a supportive voice?

Talking to yourself in an aggressive critical voice leads to low self-esteem. Talking in a supportive voice can be an “esteem generator.”

One more thing, your brain does not respond to don’t messages. In other words, your brain doesn’t do a don’t. Try it out! Say to yourself: don’t worry. What do you do; you worry. More? Don’t notice your left foot; don’t think of a pink giraffe; don’t be anxious. The answer is: always lead your brain to where you want it to go. Be calm, be relaxed, rely on your strengths and abilities.

Happy editing of your voice!