It is a shame not to live up your potential. Don't let it happen to you.
Are you talking yourself into achieving less than your potential in life? Oh, not consciously, of course – no one would do that purposely. But you may be doing it, just the same.
In recent years, we have come to understand more about the relationship between our thoughts and our actions, or the results of our actions. It has become clear how strongly the outcomes of our daily lives are influenced by what we say, or think, to ourselves and by what goes through our minds.
Our thoughts can determine what we believe about ourselves. Our beliefs, in turn, can determine whether we succeed or fail in many areas of our lives. When we control our thoughts, we also control many things that happen to us.
How would it feel if you could do the following:
- Control your thoughts to help you do what you want in life.
- Change what you need to change and help others see how easy that can be.
- Make your self-image and your comfort zones work for you.
- Set goals and achieve them.
- Communicate better and understand the importance of communication.
- Apply all of the above to specific areas of your daily life.
How would your life change if you could truly do these things? Do you suppose you could accomplish more? Could it equip you to be, do and have more? I would bet on it!
The key to developing this sort of self-mastery is stopping the negative self-talk that, if unchecked, undermines any positive thoughts you might have. You must learn to replace negative statements with positive statements targeted to help you succeed.
Of course, we're not talking about self-delusion or encouraging belief in unrealistic situations. Your chances for improved success are high and are real if you begin now (whatever your age or circumstances) to explore how to increase and encourage positive, helpful thoughts and how to banish negative and harmful thoughts forever. Control of self-talk is essential. If you let negative self-talk continue, your brain will see to it that those negative thoughts become your reality.
The first step in controlling self-talk is to become aware of it. Once we're aware of what we're saying, we can change self-talk if we want to. Change is possible
for us all, and it doesn't have to be hard. If we want to change, we can make changes in our lives immediately; it doesn't have to be a long, drawn-out process.
Dr. Jim Will, Ph.d