Self-talk. It can kill ya. And it can lift you up, too.
Each time, the little tapes loop in our heads, it is astounding what impact they can have: on our moods, on our decisions, on our assessment of self-worth.
I’m reading a great book right now to give me a much-needed kick in the pants (if you are in similar circumstances about anything, you may wish to pick up, too) – Fawn Germer’s acclaimed book Hard Won Wisdom.
You see, I have this lovely little knack of sometimes feeling sorry for myself and making excuses – oh, you know someone who does that, too? Maybe you? What I needed was someone – or quite a few “someones” to remind me that you can do anything you want but you have to (A) know what you want, (B) focus on what you want and (C) want it badly enough that you won’t be stopped by inconveniences, obstacles, challenges, setbacks (insert whatever flavor-of-the-month word clicks with you here).
One of the key points that Germer so eloquently gets across in her book – and is echoed repeatedly by the many wise, experienced and successful women she profiles – is that to be successful, you have to come to grips with self-talk and when that talk is negative, you’ve got to put a cork in it. Wrangle it, talk over it, put electrical tape over its mouth – whatever you’ve got to do! – but you can’t let negative, looping self-talk prevent you from taking an all-important next step or convince you that you’re not worthy of it. It’s time to lose the “boos,”, reshape the tapes and scrap the crap!
So for our 15th Kuhnspiration challenge of the year together (holy cow, that’s a lot of creative brewing going on), I ask you to lay it all out on the table and address it once and for all:
What is one self-talk “tape” playing in your head that may be holding you back from doing all that you think you could be doing? And how can you transform this “tape” into a more positive and encouraging voice that drives you?
I’ll check back with you later in the week to share my own not-worthy-of-downloading playlist and how I plan to ditch it for a new set of tunes.
Cheers to finding that daily spark in your life!
Chris
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