5 Steps to Let Go of Your Negative Self-Talk

Have you ever caught yourself saying these things to yourself?

Maybe you wanted to try something new, sign up for a course, apply to a job, ask that person out, lose that extra weight or start a new business only to get super excited about it and then that annoying internal chatter gets in the way. And before you know it you are feeling down on yourself, uncertain, and have talked yourself out of doing what you want to do. If you can relate to this, you are not alone.

5 Steps to Stop Negative Self-Talk:

STEP ONE: BECOME AWARE OF YOUR SELF LIMITING BELIEFS

EVERYTHING to do with CHANGE starts with AWARENESS. It seems simple, yet so many people never do it.

By first acknowledging what thoughts you continue to play on repeat in your head and bringingconscious awareness to them - you are putting a ’glitch; in your programming.

Instead of that thought constantly firing without any sort of resistance… you are saying - ‘wait a second…. this thought seems to be on replay in my mind and I am getting sick of watching the re-run. I’m going to choose to change the channel.’

Don’t know what your self-limiting beliefs are? Look at your environment. Are you in an unhealthy relationship? Are you overweight or a yo-yo dieter? Are you always broke? Can you never seem to make a decision? Our internal beliefs create our external world. Begin to look at patterns in your life and often you will find some beliefs that are no longer serving you.

STEP TWO: BE THE SCIENTIST OF YOUR LIFE

Look at your life through a lens of curiosity versus judgement. Once you are aware of your self-limiting beliefs and you have ‘called them out’ the next step is to be the scientist of your own life. Digging a little deeper and understanding where these beliefs may have stemmed from allows you to put them in context as an adult and start to reframe your beliefs.

Was there a particular experience you had that made you feel a certain way and believe a certain thing? Was it cumulative events of being raised in a toxic environment? Was it something someone said to you once that you have never been able to let go of? Start being curious. By acknowledging where these beliefs may have stemmed from you can decide to let go of the power they have over you. The key is to not get stuck here… it is simply to acknowledge where the thoughts manifested from.

STEP THREE: CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE TO STOP BUYING INTO THE BELIEFS

• You can consciously decide you are no longer going to believe these thoughts. Give yourself permission to let go of the stuff that is no longer serving you and commit to your self-awareness and self-development.

• You can choose to change your beliefs.

• You are no longer that child who needs other people to tell you what to believe. Choose for yourself.

Recognize these are beliefs unique to you based on your experiences. Just because you have 'bought into them' your whole life, does not mean you have to keep buying into them. Make the conscious decision to say no more and start being intentional about working on changing them.

STEP FOUR - BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT BUILDING NEW BELIEFS

Now comes the part that you have to start flexing that brain muscle of yours. This is where you have to do the work. You have to commit to your self-development and own the power you have within to start changing your beliefs and your life.

When those pesky thoughts pop up you have to catch yourself and begin to stop them.

There are many ways to do this, you can:

• Take time to journal around the thought and belief - self-reflection is one of the most powerful tools in your self-development toolkit.

• Find evidence against your belief - has there been a time in your life where this belief was not true? Is there someone you look up to who does not hold this belief?

• Invest in therapy if it is bringing up a lot for you and you need professional help to sort through it.

• Incorporate practical strategies like affirmations, mantras, visualizations, manifesting.

• Learn how to Re-Frame your Beliefs. This helps you to shift into a growth mindset, challenge your beliefs and go that layer deeper.

Remember, this may look different for everyone. Find something that resonates with you and then….

STEP FIVE: KEEP AT IT

It took years to build these beliefs and it is going to take some time to break them down. Each time you catch yourself in a negative spiral, each time you re-frame a negative thought, each time you courageously call yourself out; you are breaking down old beliefs and building up new ones. You are rewiring your brain through conscious repetition. Don't give up. Show yourself grace on those days when the thoughts win and just keep at it. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Learning about the power of your internal world - your beliefs - is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. Invest in yourself and self-awareness.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you have read this far, you are probably recognizing that your negative self-talk and self-limiting beliefs are holding you back from doing something you want to do.

Ask yourself - Where will I be in a year, 5 or 10 years from now if I do not start tackling these beliefs? Often people will say ‘the same place’ when in reality you will most likely be in a worse place.

Changing your beliefs is the fastest way to create lasting change in your life. Doing the INTERNAL work will get you the EXTERNAL results.

Remember, you are so much more powerful than you know.

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