Changing Negative Self-Talk

I wanted to write about this topic because it’s something I’ve been really struggling with lately. Honestly, it’s something I struggle with a lot. So much of the time, I find myself feeling negative or getting down on myself simply because of the way I am talking to myself. My inner voice is telling me that I’m not good enough or I’m not strong enough or that something is wrong about the way I am choosing to do things.

All of these ideas and thoughts we have – they’re coming from our mind. They are all just projections we have created in our minds. Whether we are telling ourselves good things or bad things, we have created those ideas. Maybe we’ve focused in on one small thing that someone has said and drawn a conclusion from it.

What messages are we sending to ourselves?

We’re always looking for ways to hurt ourselves, or to find something wrong with ourselves and the way we are doing things.

At least for me, I’m finding myself constantly over-analyzing or overthinking every little thing. I often compare myself to others, and the things they “have” that I don’t “have”. I end up finding ways to be negative for absolutely no reason. It’s only hurting me, and closing me off from growth opportunities.
So let’s think about the things that we tell ourselves. Let’s really think about the messages we are sending. Are they good ones or bad ones?

When we think about ourselves, do we feel happy for all the beautiful things we are doing? Do we feel good about the person we are? Or do we find ways to hurt ourselves and put ourselves down for not doing enough, not being enough?

When we look at others, do we feel jealous of the things they have or the things they are doing? Or can we look at them and truly appreciate them and embrace their beauty?

So often, I find myself telling myself I’m not good enough in this way or that way. I find myself wanting to give up at the first sign of trouble. Comparing ourselves and wanting to be a certain way is so stupid, really.

There’s always going to be someone who is “better” than us

The truth is that we’re never going to be like that person, or at least our projection of them. There’s always going to be someone “better” than us, at least in our minds. We’re never going to have it all. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses and we all have our own things to bring to the table. Maybe they have something I don’t but does that mean that they are better than me? If we are doing the best to be the best person we can be, that’s all that matters.

Our minds are incredibly powerful. They truly shape everything else in our lives and impact the ways in which our daily lives go. So the way we are thinking about things, the perspective we choose to have, the way we look at the world each day, affects everything else.

Let’s start to notice these patterns. Let’s start to notice when we start projecting the negative ideas onto ourselves. Let’s start to see when we are judging and comparing. And let’s change that.

Changing our Thought Patterns

Instead of the judgment and bias and comparison, we can think in more positive ways. So maybe we see someone who is much better at something than us, or more knowledgeable than us, and so instantly we use that to feel badly about ourselves. Let’s stop there for a minute. We can shift our perspective right there. Instead of using this positive thing to feel badly about ourselves, let’s use it to feel something positive about this other person and the beautiful things that they are doing. Let’s genuinely look at this person and recognize their beauty.

When we do this, not only do we feel better about this person, but we feel better about ourselves. We’re no longer comparing and sending out this negative energy, we’re truly embracing the positive. We can start to see the true beauty of human nature and the uniqueness of every single person.

Embracing Our Uniqueness

We’re all different. We all have something to contribute in this world. We’re not meant to be everything, and we’re not meant to be naturally good at everything. We’ve all got our flaws and we all have our strengths. There’s always going to be areas that we are going to need to work harder in, and there’s going to be things that come easier for us. If we keep honing in on all the things we don’t have and don’t appreciate all the things we do have, we’ll lose track of all the amazing things we have to offer.

So we need to think about these things. Think about what we are telling ourselves. Think about how often we are putting ourselves down or giving up or losing motivation. Think about all that negativity and how it’s impacting us in our daily lives.

Let’s start to see each other’s beauty. Let’s learn from one another, and find inspiration in each other.
We’re all on our own journeys. They’re not meant to be the same, and we’re not meant to be just like everyone else.

Perception is Everything

Ultimately, we always have the power to choose how we want to perceive things. No matter what the circumstances, no matter how hard it may be, we always have the power to decide the way we think. If all we are thinking is negative, all we are ever going to get is negative. But if we really think about it and shift to a mindset full of openness and positivity, we open ourselves up to other people and create an infinite number of opportunities to learn and grow.

Changing the way we talk to ourselves and the way we perceive ourselves has so much influence on the way we perceive others. Having a more positive mindset has the power to transform us into stronger and happier human beings.