Taking Charge of Your Life

Do you ever talk to yourself, out loud? People do, and it is perfectly normal – although these days, we typically first check to see if they are talking on a mobile phone! However, for the most part, your self-talk is silent, and it’s enormously powerful.

We talk to ourselves all the time. In fact, most of this conversation happens in the form of thoughts, and they usually happen so fast, we aren’t even aware of them. Let’s take a closer look.

While you are reading this right now, you are talking to yourself three times as fast as you read. When you stop reading, your mind speeds up to about six times faster. It has been estimated that we have between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts running through our minds every day. That’s one thought every 1.2 to 1.7 seconds. And we are consciously aware of about 20% of those thoughts.

These running thoughts, or “self-talk” as it is called, are extremely significant. It is important that you become aware of what your self-talk contains. Your self-talk builds up or tears down your self-image, determines what kind of relationships you have with other people, influences what kind of income you have and what kind of work you do. Your self-talk affects virtually everything in your life.

If you tell yourself good things don’t happen to you, there is an excellent chance they won’t, because your subconscious will make sure that you find a way to prove yourself right. And if you have a positive expectation of success, chances are excellent that you will succeed. You will persist in your efforts, and you will persuade others to help you until you achieve your goal.

So, pay close attention to the kinds of things you say to yourself. And, if you hear putdowns, derogatory labels or harsh criticisms, deliberately stop them and answer yourself in a positive way. When you take charge of your self-talk, you go a long way toward taking charge of your life.