Do you ever find yourself talking negatively about yourself? Are you constantly saying things like “I’m not good enough” or “I’ll never succeed”? This blog post will help you eliminate negative self-talk and replace it with positive self-talk that will help you achieve success in your business. I’m excited to guide you through the process of changing your thinking so that you can start seeing yourself as the successful entrepreneur that you are!
You will learn:
- How to identify negative self-talk and how it impacts your life
- How to recognize when others are talking negatively about themselves (and how to stop them)
- How to create a plan for improving your own self-esteem and confidence
You’re smart, you’re hardworking, and you deserve to be happy.
But sometimes it can be hard to see your own value when you’re constantly hearing messages from the world that tell you otherwise.
We’ve all been there. Negative self-talk is one of the most common forms of mental health issues, but it’s also one of the most overlooked—and one of the easiest to treat if you know what to look for.
Negative self-talk is a nasty habit that can have a huge impact on your life.
For example, if you tell yourself “I’m not good enough” or “I don’t deserve this,” it can make you feel like you’re not worthy of success in your career or relationships. If you’re constantly comparing yourself to others and feeling like they are more successful than you are, negative self-talk can lead to feelings of jealousy and resentment.
Negative self-talk can also impact your health. For example, if you constantly tell yourself that nothing is ever going to change for the better, it will be harder for you to take steps toward making those changes happen.
Negative self-talk can even affect how well our bodies function—when we constantly tell ourselves that we are sick or injured, our bodies react by being sicker and more injured than they would be otherwise!
The good news is that there are simple ways to identify negative self-talk—and then replace those thoughts with more positive ones.
Negative self-talk is the voice in your head that tells you that you’re not good enough, or that you’ll never be able to achieve what you want to. It’s the voice that tells you you’re too ugly, too fat, too old, or too young. It’s the voice that says “I can’t” and “this will never work out”. Negative self-talk can be hard to recognize. It usually sounds like a friend or family member giving advice—and sometimes it is! But sometimes it’s not.
Negative self-talk can come from inside your own head, and it can sound like any number of things:
- “I’m not smart enough for this job.”
- “I’m too old to start a business.”
- “I’m not pretty enough for him/her.”
- “No one likes me.”
Negative self-talk often comes from our most vulnerable places: fear and insecurity. And it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of negative self-talk if we aren’t aware of it happening in our lives!
If you’re ready to break the cycle of negative thinking, here are some tips on how to identify negative self-talk and how it impacts your life:
- Identify Your Negative Thoughts
Start by identifying the types of negative thoughts that you have most frequently. Do they involve other people? Are they about yourself? How often do they happen? What triggers these thoughts?
- Look at the Evidence
Next, look at all of the evidence against each negative thought. For example, if you had just started thinking “I’m not good enough” as you were reading this section of the book, what evidence could you find that contradicts it? Maybe you read an article earlier this week about how being “not good enough” is an illusion—and maybe you even learned something new from it! Maybe someone else has told you how great they think you are in a recent conversation or meeting.
- Playing the Comparison Game
You constantly compare yourself to others without ever feeling satisfied with yourself or where you are in life right now (even if it’s an improvement over where you were before).
- Pay Attention to the Signs
Negative self-talk is a habit that can be hard to break. It can feel like you are stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts, but there are ways to break out of that cycle and start seeing yourself in a more positive light.
It’s important to know what symptoms of negative self-talk you’re experiencing before you can address them and begin working toward positive change. Here are some common signs:
You tend to be your own worst critic.
You always find fault in your actions and decisions, even if they’re well-intentioned.
You frequently talk down to yourself in an unkind way, even when no one else would dare say the things to you that you say about yourself.
You often get caught up in what other people think about you instead of focusing on what you think about yourself (and this can lead to anxiety about social situations).
If you have struggled with negative self-talk, it’s no surprise if you have also struggled with having low self-esteem or a lack of confidence. In fact, it can be hard to get out of the rut, but there are ways to improve your self-esteem. You can begin by making a plan for improving your own self-esteem, and then implementing it!
The first thing you should do is write down all of the things that you think make you feel good about yourself. It could be anything from “I like my hair” to “I’m good at math.” Then write down all of the activities that make you feel confident. This could include things like “working out” or “going for walks.” Now write down all of the things that make you feel bad about yourself. These may include things like “I don’t get along with my parents” or “I’m not very good at writing.”
Once you’ve written everything down, take a look at what’s on each list—and where there are gaps between them! For example, if there are no items on both lists, then maybe it’s time to explore some new hobbies or interests. On the other hand, if there are lots of items on one list but none on another (or vice versa), then this may indicate an area where improvement is needed.
Next comes the hard part: letting go of any negative thoughts or feelings about yourself. It’s easy for us all to get stuck in ruts where we don’t feel good enough or worthy enough—but if we want true confidence, then we need to stop these negative thoughts from running through our heads.
If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that we can always get better at something if we set our minds to it. The best way to start improving yourself is by setting goals—goals that stretch your abilities but aren’t too far out of reach so they don’t seem unattainable. Then make a plan: what will it take for me to achieve my goal? What steps do I need to take? And finally, how will I measure my success?
It’s not just a matter of “thinking positive” or “feeling good.” If you want to improve your self-esteem, you need to change the way you think about yourself—and that means making a plan. The key here is consistency: if you’re going to build confidence in yourself, then it has to be something that’s part of your everyday life.