Do Normal People Talk to Themselves Every Day?

When I was younger, people known to talk to themselves were considered weird. Now, every self-help book encourages you to talk to yourself. Suddenly, it’s become the thing to do. Self-talk is normal.

Do you talk to yourself? What do you typically say?

“Every waking moment we talk to ourselves about the things we experience. Our self-talk, the thoughts we communicate to ourselves, in turn, control the way we feel and act” – John Lembo

https://quotesguides.com/positive-self-talk-quotes/

Before sitting down to write this post, I Googled “talk to yourself.” Hundreds of quotes, articles, and images popped up. There were so many quotes that resonated with me.

The concurrent theme in all of these snippets was that you become who you tell yourself you are. So, if you continuously berate yourself for not doing an excellent job at work, you will ultimately self-sabotage and not do an excellent job at work. But, if you tell yourself daily that you are great at your job, you will suddenly be able to handle multiple projects.

It’s just like the “Little Engine that Could.” Remember that book? If you think you can, you will, but if you think you can’t, you won’t. Is life that simple?

Yes, I believe it is. However, I also think that simple can be VERY hard.

If this were an easy thing to do, the entire world would be one big bunch of happy campers!

Use Positive Thoughts When You Talk to Yourself

I was participating in a Zoom call last week where we did an exercise on positive thinking. We had three minutes to write down positive statements about ourselves. The Leader asked us to come up with a minimum of ten statements.

It was tough for me to think of ten things I am good at. Yet, if the Leader asked me to write down ten negative statements in three minutes, I believe I would have more than doubled her request. Why is it so hard to be optimistic about oneself?

Could you quickly jot down ten positive things about yourself right now?

From an evolutionary perspective it can be difficult to be a positive, happy and optimistic person because our brains have been wired to focus on the negative, since avoiding potential threats is crucial to our survival as a species.

https://melbournehypnotherapyclinic.com/why-it-is-so-hard-to-be-positive/

The above quote fascinates me. It means that our negative thinking originated during the caveman days! Indeed this explains why it is so hard to become positive; negativity has been ingrained in us.

Luckily for me, I have always been a glass-half-full type of person. It has saved me from heartache many times.

I vividly remember having a terrible reaction to one of the breast cancer drugs I took a few years ago. When prescribed, I read the label that listed all the possible side effects. Yikes! (Don’t you love when they rattle those off in a commercial?)

Anyway, one of the side effects was symptoms of a heart attack. One night I was experiencing debilitating bone pain and was in the fetal position on the bathroom floor crying. I actually had the thought, well, at least I am not having symptoms of a heart attack!

That’s me, always looking for positive thoughts in dire situations. I am so happy I am “wired” that way. But, it doesn’t make talking favorable to myself any more manageable.

I have decided to work on keeping my self-talk positive. Enough negative issues are going on in the world right now that the last thing I need is to let all that negativity impact the thoughts in my head.

I start and end my day by reciting the ten positive statements I wrote down about myself last week. It is making me grateful for my positive attributes. And, it is hard to be negative when you are feeling grateful. I am making a concerted effort to surround myself with positive energy. I am happier.

Ten years ago, if you had mentioned that self-talk could change my attitude toward myself, I would have said you were crazy. How could you possibly “talk” yourself into being a better person? I know now that you can; I have seen it happen.

Have you ever had a friend who had terrible luck? Why do you think that is? Can it all be just a coincidence? I used to think so, but now I am not so sure. Was your friend expecting nothing but bad luck? Could some of it have been a self-fulfilling prophecy? It’s possible.

Do I wish someone would have made me aware of this sooner in my life? Yes, and no. If they did, I do not know if I would have taken the advice seriously. However, I was ready to hear it at this point in my life and I believe that’s a good thing.

Are you conscious of the way you speak to yourself? Are your current thoughts more positive than negative? Would you like them to be? Being aware of our thoughts is the first step to managing them. It’s a bit scary getting inside your head, but it’s the only way to change your thought process.

After reading this, do you agree self-talk is normal? Kindly drop a comment below and let me know.