Women and negative self talk. Part 2.

How we are our own worst critic.
(part 2 of a three-part series)
by Lorri Molinari

Why is our self talk so powerful? It has to do with the power of the subconscious mind.
The subconscious mind does not see the difference between the statement “I am poor” and the statement “I am wealthy”. It accepts whatever programming we give it. So if we tell it something often enough and strongly enough, it will take action on our behalf and make it happen.

So if we say to ourselves, “I always have trouble making ends meet,” our subconscious mind says, “Okay, I’ll do what you’re tell me to do and I’ll make sure you don’t make ends meet.”

Here is another powerful fact about the power of the subconscious mind. It does not qualify or judge our self talk. Think of the subconscious mind as a sponge. It will absorb whatever we say to ourselves – silently or out loud. It is not going to say, “That thought doesn’t serve your life so I’m going to ignore it.” All our subconscious mind says is “Thank you for my new directions.” And now it is going to make it happen – whether it’s positive or negative.

Everything that happens in our lives shows up because we mentally created it. We are responsible for it all.

In the first part of this article series I said I wanted to provide you with valuable information so you understand the missing link between your DESIRE for a dazzling life and the actual ACHIEVEMENT of a dazzling life. Well, this is it.

WE create, direct, influence, or allow things to happen because of our self talk and the self-fulfilling prophecies we therefore create.

So what can we do differently to create a dazzling life? We can understand the different types of self-talk.

There are different levels of self talk:

Level 1 – The level of blind acceptance
This is the least beneficial level and can be the most harmful self-talk we use. This is when we say something bad or negative about ourselves and we accept it. All Level 1 self-talk works against us. The bad news is this is the most frequently used self-talk of all!

Here are some examples…. I just don’t have the energy I used to. I could never do that. I just can’t seem to lose weight. I wish I could, but I can’t. Today’s just not my day. This self-talk gives us doubts, fears, misgivings, and hesitations and we are programming ourselves with it.

Please take a few moments to think about some examples of Level 1 self talk you use within your daily life so you can increase your awareness.

Here is the consequence of Level 1 self talk –the subconscious mind (the sponge) is listening – ready to carry out our instructions – positive or negative.

We are telling ourselves to hesitate, question our capabilities, and accept less than we know we could have done. It is our way of playing it safe. This is the first step in self-sabotage. It clutters, it blocks, and it confuses.

Imagine how much of our every day lives is spent with this kind of self-talk. Think about each time we say I can’t –I shouldn’t.

Remember that earlier statistic – 77% of our self talk is negative. So in the average hour that translates to 46 MINUTES.

Bottom line: Now that we are becoming aware of it, why would we want to use any self-talk that would program us to fail or do less than we can do?

listening to your own self talk, specifically listening for Level 1 self talk. You will know when it’s happening because you will be feeling self-doubt and lack of self-confidence.

In the next article, series 3, I will review Level 2 and Level 3 self talk plus an action plan to change your self talk.