Self-talk is that constant mental chatter in our heads as we move through our day. We tell ourselves things all day long. Unfortunately, most of us mentally berate ourselves or call ourselves derogatory names.

On the other hand, successful people make affirming positive statements or affirmations to themselves. They repeat affirmations often, and they support the statements with positive thoughts.

Jeff Haden at Inc.com in “9 Powerful Affirmations Successful People Repeat Every Single Day” explores nine affirmations successful people make. Jeff also explains the importance of each affirmation.

9 Powerful Affirmations Successful People Repeat Every Single Day

The problem may not be a lack of education or opportunity or connections or even luck. The problem could be what you believe–and as a result, what you do. What do the most successful people believe and therefore do differently? Read more…

 

You can change your self-talk

Negative self-talk can be damaging to our self-esteem. Why? Because we begin to believe what we tell ourselves and accept our negative thoughts as truths. Sadly, we learned most of these cynical statements as children. Often well-meaning adults would criticize or scold us in a way that would demoralize or demean us.

The good news is that we can change our self-talk. Here are three steps you can take:

1. Develop awareness of what you’re saying to yourself. Listen to your inner voice and you will recognize when you talk negatively to yourself.
2. Challenge the negative messages. When you hear yourself say, “You can’t do anything right,” stop yourself and confront this belief. Maybe you made a mistake, but do you always mess up? I doubt it.
3. Replace the negative statements with positive messages. When you realize that you’re saying unkind and untrue things to yourself, turn it around in your mind. Using the above example, you might say, “Wow, that’s not true at all! I do lots of things right. I did make a mistake, but others do too. I’m a good a person, and I try my best.”

Here is the list of  Jeff’s affirmations:

1. In one way, I will always be last.
2. I will never equate acquisition with satisfaction.
3. I will never mistake political gain for achievement.
4. I won’t let the fear of criticism hold me back.
5. I will go ahead and ship–and then ship again.
6. I will see my résumé as the journey, not the end result.
7. I will refuse to wait.
8. I won’t collect stuff; I’ll ‘collect’ people.
9. I will always maintain perspective.

Which one can you embrace today? Is there one the list that you can use to replace a put-down thought? Can you make one or two of these statements a part of your value system?

Slowly over time your efforts will pay off. One day you’ll discover that your self-esteem and self-respect have grown stronger. Remember that this will take time – there is no overnight fix. As I said at the beginning, we are carrying thoughts that someone planted in our mind many years ago in our childhood. Any of these nine affirmations can make your self-talk a pathway to success.

 

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]Real, lasting satisfaction comes from doing, not having. ~Jeff Haden[/social_quote]