Girl talk Wellness

4 Ways to end negative self-talk

how-to-stop-negative-self-talk

“Idiot! What is wrong with you?!” That was the first thing that I heard myself say when I missed a turn. I was going home after running some errands. Since I was in an unfamiliar area, I turned my GPS on. GPS that hasn’t been updated since I bought my car. The rain was pouring down hard, it was right around school-traffic time and I could barely see where I was going (not that it mattered since I didn’t actually know where I was).  What should have been a 20-minute drive home, turned into a 40-minute ride.

I didn’t need to rush,  yet that 20-minute delay made me really upset. Why? Well, now that I think about it, it wasn’t the delay itself, it was just me, being frustrated with myself for missing that turn (and another one after that).

As the rain slowed down a bit, I took a few deep breaths and thought to myself: “well, there’s nothing I can about missing that turn, beating myself up won’t help here“. So, I put on an audiobook that I meant to finish few days ago and made the best of that 40-minute drive.  Every day, as I drive home from work, I’m surrounded by so many familiar things, so taking a long drive through those roads and places I’ve never been to, was a nice change. Turns out, missing an exit and getting home 20 minutes later than planned isn’t the end of the world. It certainly isn’t worth calling yourself stupid or telling yourself you’re an idiot.

How do you talk to yourself?

Are you always being kind, loving and understanding? Do you criticize yourself a lot? Tell yourself you can’t do something, that you’re stupid or that you’re not good enough? Most of the time, the things that we say to ourselves, aren’t very positive. What’s even worse, we don’t really see anything wrong with that. It’s become somewhat of a second nature to us. Negative self-talk feels normal, natural, but how often do we praise ourselves for doing something well?

Chances are, you wouldn’t say those things to a friend or someone close. A lot of us though, don’t have a problem with being unkind and even nasty to ourselves. To change that, you need to be mindful of your self-talk.

Be mindful of your self-talk. It’s a conversation with the UniverseDavid James Lees

To be mindful of your self-talk, means observing your thoughts and feelings, without judgment. It means to step “out” of your thinking process and direct your attention to the present moment. That’s where you acknowledge that those self-criticizing thoughts, are just that: thoughts.

PAY ATTENTION TO + ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR THOUGHTS

Or, in other words, acknowledge that  inner critic. Until you recognize and acknowledge those negative thoughts and their patterns, you might not even be aware they actually exist. They’re often repetitive and pretty much always unproductive. I’ve had these self-berating thoughts going through my head ever since I can remember. I never thought of it as neither a negative or a positive thing; I just thought it was normal, or that it’s just the way I am. Once I recognized that those self-critical thoughts don’t serve me at all, I started paying attention to where they came from. You might find that those negative thoughts come from fear- fear of failure, fear of your past, not being good enough, fear of your future.  Ask yourself: “what am I afraid of?” or “how do I attack myself?

When you notice and acknowledge those habitual patterns- be mindful of them.  Simply observe them. So, when you think “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do this, I give up” you recognize that it’s just a thought: “I’m having a thought that I’m not good enough“, “I’m having a thought that I can’t do this, I’m having a thought that I want to give up.” It’s just a thought, not your truth. 

how-to-stop-negative-self-talk

SEPARATE YOURSELF 

… from that inner critic. A little self-criticism is healthy, but once it becomes excessive it can inhibit you, limit you and stop you from doing the things you want to do or try. If, you constantly tell yourself “I can’t”, eventually you’ll believe it. Separating that inner critic from yourself can help you take it less seriously. Some psychologists say that giving your inner critic a name can help even further; Dr. Tamar Chansky says that “naming it something goofy adds a bit of levity, which helps break through the emotional hold that anxiety has on you. Over time, this short circuits the whole anxious cycle.”

LET YOURSELF FEEL

Mindfulness involves awareness; paying attention to and accepting present moment. Once you’ve identified those thoughts, allow yourself to feel them. Surrender. It’s something you probably often deny yourself. This isn’t always easy to do- avoidance is the opposite of mindfulness and whenever you feel pain, you want to bottle it up and suppress it. Resist it. We usually look to distract ourselves from those negative emotions. Being still, just with your thoughts, your emotions can feel very uncomfortable. Avoidance though, can intensify those negative feelings and it can stop you from learning from your thoughts and emotions.

FIND COMPASSION + FORGIVENESS

Learn to be on your own side. Find self-compassion and forgivenessSelf-compassion will help you predict emotional reactions to negative events in your daily life. Research has also proven that high levels of self-compassion are associated with less procrastination and higher motivation.

Here’s what really changed my perspective; I started thinking of myself as a little girl. When I start noticing that my self-talk becomes even slightly negative or limiting, I think “would I say this to my 8 or 10-year old self?” This really puts things into perspective. You wouldn’t tell a little boy or girl that they’re a failure or that they’re not good enough, or, that he/she is an idiot. You probably wouldn’t discourage them from following their dreams. So why do that to yourself? You can also try writing down those self-critical thoughts. Look at them and ask yourself “would I say this to a friend?

If you notice yourself being self-critical, try to remember that beating yourself up for making a mistake will only make you feel worse. Don’t let self-criticism weigh you down. Accept those feelings and thoughts for what they are, and let them go. At the same time, remember that it’s okay to acknowledge all the things you do well. Take some time to recognize all the things you’re good at, things you’ve accomplished. Don’t be so harsh on yourself.

Do you find that you engage in that negative self-talk often? How do you deal with those negative thoughts or feelings?

how-to-end-negative-self-talk

27 Comments

  • Reply
    Liz | Lipstick & Confetti
    March 2, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    These are all such great tips!

    xo, Liz
    http://lipstickandconfetti.com

  • Reply
    Ana
    March 2, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    I thibk it’s so important to talk to ourselves as we would do to a friend. We should treat ourselves well. I loved this post! You give such great tips xxx
    http://fallingforablog.blogspot.com.es/2017/03/grey-grey.html

  • Reply
    Trish @ The Trish List
    March 2, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    I love this. It is so important to be positive with yourself. I do believe what you put out into the universe will come back at you.
    http://www.thetrishlist.com

  • Reply
    Sheridan Grady
    March 2, 2017 at 3:25 pm

    Love this! i have definitely been trying to be a little kinder to myself this year, it’s so important x

    http://www.shayholly.com

  • Reply
    fridayfaye
    March 2, 2017 at 4:30 pm

    I love this post! I’m going to try to be a little bit kinder to myself from now on :) xx

    http://www.fridayfaye.com

  • Reply
    DreamInLace
    March 2, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    Adore this post! Recently I read a book entitled ‘You Are a Badass’ and one of it’s tidbits of advice for living a better life and achieving your goals is to start having kinder conversations with yourself to promote positive energy – as a way of attractive positive energy. It’s crazy the things we will say to and about ourselves, that we’d never dream of saying about someone else. Definitely amending to be kinder to ME this year!

    xoxo – Kelly
    http://www.dreaminlace.com

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      March 2, 2017 at 7:33 pm

      Thank you so much Kelly! I have that book too :) I think that most of the time we don’t even realize how mean we can be to ourselves. So happy that you’re making it an effort to be kind to yourself! x

  • Reply
    Maddy R
    March 2, 2017 at 9:56 pm

    Love this post! One of my New Years resolutions was to be more positive and I love all of your suggestions! Definitely a little to mean to myself sometimes… Your flat lay at the beginning was on point too! Thanks for sharing!!
    -Maddy
    cheers-maddy.com

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      March 3, 2017 at 8:56 pm

      Thank you Maddy! I think we all tend to be a little mean to ourselves at times and it’s definitely something worth working on!

  • Reply
    Finja
    March 3, 2017 at 4:34 am

    Awww, this is great. Such a lovely post! And I def. should be kinder to myself….
    xx finja | http://www.effcaa.com

  • Reply
    Amanda
    March 3, 2017 at 9:24 am

    I could take some tips from this. I’ve actually gotten a lot better in the last year or two at talking to myself using kinder words, and I often stop myself mid nasty thought, but it’s defo a work in progress and I still get harsh and frustrated sometimes. I’m defo my own worst critic! xx

  • Reply
    Beth Stokes
    March 3, 2017 at 11:07 am

    Amazing post! Such good tips. Beth xx
    http://www.ohsoaugust.com

  • Reply
    Demilade Aina
    March 4, 2017 at 9:24 am

    Loved reading this, very helpful tips! It’s so alarming how negative self talk can become very ‘normal’. These days I try to make a conscious effort to block such thoughts from my mind. Love the idea of imagining yourself as a 10 year old. Thanks for sharing. xx
    Coco Bella Blog

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      March 14, 2017 at 11:05 am

      It’s become so “normal” that we often don’t realize how mean we are to ourselves and it’s so sad. I think we all tend to be a bit too hard on ourselves at times. x

  • Reply
    Yvonne Ashon
    March 4, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    This is an excellent post. Great tips.

    http://www.yourbeautypantry.com

  • Reply
    Laura Fellows
    March 15, 2017 at 8:29 am

    thanks for this post. since becoming a mother i am very wary of what comes out of my mouth when i speak to my son. but never even thought about how i talk to myself.

  • Reply
    Natalie Redman
    March 29, 2017 at 11:29 am

    Great post! Definitely need to stop calling myself out for the little things.

    http://www.upyourvlog.com

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