I am sure that many of you, like I suffer time-to-time with negative self-talk. It seems to rise its ugly head when we are stressed, unhappy, or are having a pitty party for one reason or another.
If we do not catch what is going on quickly we can allow this voice to consume our thoughts and begin to believe that they are the truth we should follow.
Recently, I was going through some extra stress at work and everyday it seemed as though the black cloud was not going to pass. As I was talking to myself on the way to work I realized that it was “I” who was creating the black cloud because of the things I was saying to myself about my current work situation.
Ultimately, I knew that this situation would pass, but while going through it I was actually making life worse for myself (and I am sure for those around me) by this negative self-talk. Once I understood that I was making the situation worse I knew that I could make the way I felt about it better which would then make me feel better and perform better.
Here are a few of the word changes that I made to help me.
Instead of saying “I have to do something” (Dread) I would say, “I can’t wait to do this so I can move forward and tick it off of my list.” (Uplifting)
Instead of saying “I have so much to do” (Overwhelm) I would say, “I am going to take these two small steps today to work on this project.” (Doable)
Instead of saying “I hate my job” (Anger) I would say and continue to say, “I’m thankful I have a job that I can earn a living.” (Gratefulness)
The situation did not change, but I changed the way I looked and spoke to myself about it. It wasn’t easy and the negative self-talk would continue to try and squeeze into the conversation, but once I made the commitment to myself to have better mental health while going through a difficult situation it has been easier to catch that negative voice, scold it for coming around, and focus on positive self-talk so I could deal with the situation in a much healthier way.
This not only made life better for me, but also for those around me!
AA/3/23
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