Positive Self-Talk: Benefits and Techniques

How often in a day do you find yourself talking to yourself mentally? Me, so very often and in a positive way! And this is not surprising since research has already shown that talking to yourself positively can improve your self-esteem, management of stress, wellbeing.

Self-talk is also known to cut any indications of personality disorders, anxiety, and depression, besides improving body image, as well as treating people with eating complaints. Then again, if you mostly think negatively on yourself, the results are the opposite.

Generally, no one wants to feel bad often. So, why not mainly think encouragingly? In this way, you can reap the benefits of positive self-talk that can even reduce the risk of suicide or self-harm.

Experts even suggest that people with affirmative self-talk may own mental dexterities that let them think differently, solve problems, and become more efficient in coping with challenges of life. Now, is this not a great way of putting an end to your endless worries and anxious feeling?

What is self-talk?

Self-talk is the ongoing inner chat with ourselves that influences the way we behave and feel.

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For instance, you got caught in the traffic jam on your way to a very important meeting. Negative self-talk can be pessimistic, such as “There goes my future down the drain!”

In contrast, positive self-talk may go this way: “Oh, my! I need to make a call!” See the difference? The truth of the matter is that self-talk is influenced greatly by your subliminal mind that reveals your opinions, beliefs, ideas, and questions.

So, just like anything else, it is within us to choose which kind of self-talk shall we indulge in.

Self-talk exists the habitual manner of acting on experience, and frequently, appears as an internal criticizer. Also, it is common for almost all people to sustain a running discourse inside their heads, commonly called the inner chatter.

This dialogue ranges from instructing ourselves on how to do a task or casual observations about the environment or situation. At times, it may be like the subconscious mind reminding you of certain things you need to pay attention to or solutions to some problems you may have.

Examples of positive self-talk

What most of us fail to realize is the fact that our self-talk has the power to influence the manner we view ourselves, besides the world surrounding us. We have two choices in terms of self-talk, negative or positive. Often, our pattern is sadly negative, where we concentrate on preconceived thoughts that we are lacking in so many ways or a failure.

Our brain is hardwired to recall negative experiences more than positive ones. Thus, we remember the instances when we committed mistakes more than those we did things right. When these negative memories are replayed, it fuels negative feelings.