Annihilating Negative Self-Talk

'You've got to accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the affirmative

Don't mess with Mister In-Between.'

Many of us aren't old enough to remember Johnny Mercer's hit, Accentuate the Positive. Today, we're repurposing a few of the lyrics to discuss how to manage a silent killer as impactful as any disease destroying the human body can ever be.

I'm speaking about the internal negativity each of us carries within - more specifically, negative self-talk (NST) weakening our determination to succeed.

A mindblower for sure. What's more interesting, according to the National Science Foundation, the average person has 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. If that wasn't sobering enough, 80% of those thoughts are negative. Let me repeat that. In 24 hours (1 day = 48,000) NST plagues your mind. Imagine extended shift workers, chronic worriers, or creatives (writers) suffering insomniac's like me, that figure doubles or even triples.

There's so much I desire to achieve. I can't let NST continue hijacking my thoughts without trying to do something about it.

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Are you with me? Hope so.

PART I

The first step in solving any problem is to see it. NST is no different. Once you know your inner enemy, you can ask hard questions. I like to refer to this part of the process as playing detective, looking for the triggers or situations sparking NST. Come closer. I'll let you in on a clever secret. You want to find out if the root cause of the problem is yours (a direct experience) or careful bugs planted in your mind by someone else's fear-based issues. Discovering the latter to be the case only requires your distance till goal time.

PART II

Using the children's book The Little Engine That Could as an example, shift your NST to a positive beginning with your vocabulary, I think I CAN, I know I CAN. Individualize this step. Use a song, keyword, or even a smell to dial it down one NST at a time ( I use a combination depending on the project or the day's stress level).

Remember, be gentle with yourself. A sudden visitation from old NST patterns is not out of the ordinary. When it happens, employ a new method of attack. S.T. O. P., Silence, Tame, Oppressive thinking, Positively. Being still is a task within itself, don't waste all the hard work by giving up or giving in and reverting.

Another technique defeating the old familiar is connecting with the people, places, or things that empowers your self-worth, makes you feel supported, or invincible to handle anything thrown your way. Before you realize it, your accomplishments replace NST. Those 48,000 thoughts become cheerleaders and motivational coaches, inspiring you to turn your dreams into realities.