Everyone is interested in positive self-talk. But, what are the ways to practice positive self-talk? Let’s find out.
Talking to oneself may sound weird in some parts of the world. Especially, the central and eastern countries, where people do not believe in self-talk and view the ones who do as psychologically ill.
Likewise, I am from a country where people do no believe in self-talking. However, times are changing, and people now understand the benefits of doing this thing.
Self-talk is of two types, positive and negative self-talk. We are aware of what negative self-talk is. It is generally a way to ruminate and procrastinate over many things with a negative mindset. Besides, it also leads to depression and anxiety.
But, positive self-talk is completely different. It is the opposite of the latter and emphasizes the goodwill and hope concerning the aspects of life.
To sum up, positive self-talk is the foundation of our happy and carefree lifestyle. Contrary to the negative self-talk, it doesn’t focus on wallowing over tasks. Rather, it believes in doing them and learning from mistakes in this process.
For instance, in this pandemic, many people were depressed and anxious over the potential of the virus. They were highly concerned about the havoc it would bring to humanity, which led them to wallow in emotional outbursts and employ negative-self talk.
However, some of them were still quite cool about it. In other words, instead of getting tensed and sad, they managed their emotional responses to deal with the adversity. They approached the situation with positive-self talk of affirmation and self-compassion.
So, let’s discuss what are the ways to practice positive self-talk.
What is positive self-talk?
Positive self-talk.
It sounds good, right.
The word positive is such a powerful one to motivate us to do anything that is beyond our potential. Similarly, positive self-talk is healthy for our mental well-being and helps us figure out the impossible ways to perform tasks and activities.
Now, let’s find out how does it work.
Often, people confuse positive self-talk with blind optimism and consider it naive to believe in good about everything. However, that is not the case. Positive self-talk comes with the ultimate realization that nothing is permanent, and things change dramatically.
It accepts the mistakes and errors that one commits. But it isn’t fixated on it and is willing to see opportunities that arise from committing such mistakes. In other words, it longs for improvement, experience, and rejuvenation of events that occur in our lives.
So, this is what positive self-talk is and the way it influences us. It is a self-reflection technique that focuses on the positive change of perception. However, it cannot be done without empathy and love. In other words, self-compassion.
Now, let’s find out how self-compassion plays a key role in positive self-talk.
How Self-compassion plays a key role in the positive-self talk?
Yes, self-compassion.
There exists a relation between self-compassion and positive self-talk which we do not know yet. To practice positive self-talk, we have to forgive ourselves for multiple mistakes we do in the course of life. We have to accept the imperfections we possess and move forward with a healthy mindset.
For instance, my mother was so anxious about the financial problems we had a long time ago that she stopped utilizing many things in the house to save some bills. However, she realized that doing so isn’t going to save anything in the long run.
Hence, she worked hard to make up for the lack of money to pay the bills. And, she did. She practiced self-talk with empathy and love for herself. Besides, she also overcame the hurdles to earn a decent amount of money and make a living out of it. Now, she isn’t concerned about paying bills on time anymore.
Our self-compassion helps us rise past our apathy and pain to focus on ourselves, love ourselves, and empathize with ourselves. It becomes a gateway to positive self-talk and guides us to make the right decisions in life.
Now, let us discuss what are the ways to practice positive self-talk.
What are the ways to practice positive self-talk?
Even though self-talking is complex and requires a lot of introspection, we can still practice it to master our sense of self-worth. Besides, it also helps us identify with various issues in our life.
Most importantly, it helps us deal with negative emotions and tackle our depression, anxiety, and sadness. But, we need to practice positive self-talk to gain intrapersonal knowledge.
So, here are 5 best ways to practice positive self-talk.
1. Reduce the negativity around you:
Most of the negative emotions emerge from our surroundings. The friends we spend time with, the siblings we play with, everyone, no matter the age, can influence our emotions both positively and negatively.
However, if we are around pessimists, we lose a lot of positive vibes. Such individuals constantly affect us as they have no desire to bring excitement and enthusiasm. It takes a mental toll on our emotional stability, and we become negative ourselves.
Therefore, we must exclude the negativity and spend time with people who can bring insights and inspiration to us.
2. Practice gratitude:
I do not know why, but it seems that gratitude is the healing herb that cures even the most grievous psychological wounds. It helps deal with little things that do not matter to everyone.
For instance, it is a great antidote to regret and helps tackle the negative emotions. Likewise, it also helps in enhancing our optimism and positivity to deal with problems through humility.
Hence, we must practice gratitude if we want to prevent negative self-talk and detrimental emotional outbursts.
3. Stop being envious of people:
Jealousy and envy are one of the strongest emotions that can easily sabotage an individual’s sense of self. Constantly comparing ourselves with others results in unnecessary complications with individuality.
Therefore, being envious of people is harmful to self-confidence and makes life miserable.
We must stop comparing ourselves to others and focus on the good about us. No one is perfect. Besides, finding perfection leads to maladaptive perfectionism, which isn’t good for mental health either.
4. Give yourself positive affirmations:
Behind every successful story, there is an inspiration or motivation. Likewise, it is better to be positive and inspired every time we face difficult situations.
Often, we end up complaining and whining about various events that go on during the day. However, giving ourselves positive affirmations helps us deal with anger and disappointment.
Hence, we must be positively affirmed to go on with the day and stop complaining about things that are not under our control.
5. Believe in yourself:
Positive self-talk requires a lot of faith and belief in oneself. We can not practice it without having faith in our abilities. Moreover, it is the measure of our self-confidence into who we are as an individual.
Self-compassion also plays a key role here. It helps us love ourselves enough to deal with any sort of negativity around us. Besides, it is the key to all problems in life that require intrapersonal awareness.
Final Words:
To sum up, self-talking is vital and refines our understanding of tough and challenging situations.
However, negative self-talk can have a lot of disadvantages that can be curbed by positive self-talk. Hence, it is necessary for every individual who feels alone and misunderstood to practice positive self-talk in life.