LTM - Lesson 5 - Listen to and Control Your Self-Talk

5. Listen to and Control Your Self-Talk

Guess who’s the Number 1 person you communicate with on a daily

basis? It’s you! Our minds are in a constant state of self-talk. These

internal conversations characterize how we view the world and influence

every part of our lives: relationships, achievements, attitude and,

ultimately, our degree of happiness.

If this internal dialogue is negative—focusing on faults, mistakes,

weaknesses, insecurities, or fears—it will be virtually impossible to feel

good about yourself and advance your life forward.

Furthermore, sustained negative thinking can have a detrimental effect on

your health and overall quality of life. If, on the other hand, your self-talk

is positive—concentrating on your strengths, blessings, successes, and

opportunities—your self-image will be strong and vibrant. Your obstacles

won’t seem insurmountable and, as a whole, your life will become more

enjoyable and gratifying.

The great news is that you can control what you think. You can replace

any negative thought with a more positive and productive affirmation.

You’ll soon find that the process gets easier with sustained practice.

The first step toward improving your thoughts is to become aware of your

internal conversations and really listen to your inner voice.

 Are your thoughts positive or negative?

 Do they lift you up or do they bring you down?

 Do they inspire or do they impede?

Be aware of this internal dialogue and its content; make sure it stays

positive. When it becomes negative, take a few minutes to analyze the

underlying reasons for your pessimistic thinking.

If you catch yourself thinking negatively, you can stop your thought

process mid-stream by literally saying to yourself, “Stop!” Saying this

aloud has power; you’re bound to notice the frequency and circumstances

of these destructive internal conversations.

Every time I catch myself thinking about one of my failures, faults or

mistakes, I have a firm conversation with myself. Then using my selfcontrol,

I change the subject. I confess that I may have to repeat this selftalk

technique 20 times before I finally stop thinking about a major

mistake or failure. But, as with every challenge I have faced thus far in

my life, I have not allowed it to negatively impact my overall outlook.

LTM Challenge

Let me encourage you to start being aware of your self-talk. Determine

which conversations are helpful and which ones are harmful. Be mindful

that your internal conversations not only affect how you view yourself,

but also how you react and respond to others.

Remember, we all make mistakes. We all have setbacks. We all

experience failures. The key is to learn from every experience and use our

self-control to stop thinking about them. It is only then that we can take

positive steps to achieve our personal and professional best.

You can’t control your life

if you don’t control your thoughts.