How we talk to ourselves can have a major impact on achieving our goals and our health. Goals involve change. Change takes time. Change is a process. To achieve our health and fitness goals we must be ready to embrace change and think in terms of lifestyle.
Negative self-talk can cause us to be less effective at stress management which can lead to increased distress in our lives, depression, catching more colds and even a shorter life.
Positive self-talk can help up redirect our thoughts and actions and result in increased productivity, reduced stress and better health.
Self-talk can be the start of that change or may prevent us from making any change at all.
How often have we said, “I should eat better”, “I should exercise more” or “, I should get more sleep”?
A good way to get started changing our inner talk from negative to positive is to make one small change to our vocabulary. This can help us get started on our goals and keep us going when the choices get tough. Instead of saying “I should”, tell yourself, “I want to”.
Instead of saying, “I should exercise”, tell yourself, “I want to exercise.”
Instead of saying, “I should eat better”, say, “I want to eat better so I can be healthier.”
Whenever you hear yourself saying, “I should”, change your vocabulary to “I want to.”
This small change can make the difference from thinking about making changes in your life to taking action.
Look at your self-talk and see if you need to make the change of using “should” to “want.”
Are there other ways your self-talk is holding you back?
For more on how positive self-talk can decrease your level of stress and improve your health, read “Positive Thinking: Stop Negative Self-Talk to Reduce Stress” from the Mayo Clinic.
Here are a few more resources to help you increase your positive self-talk:
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