Back to: Day 21 – Journaling
When working on courage, it is essential to have positive self-talk. Most of your lived experience happens within your mind. Therefore, in order for you to feel safe in your body, your mind must be a safe place for you already.
The first step of this is realizing one thing:
You are not your thoughts.
In other words, you have thoughts, but those thoughts do not define who you are.
The mind is a powerful tool. It can pull you out of a deep spiral, but it can also keep you down. If it’s not trained, it will fill your head with negative thoughts about yourself, creating limiting beliefs and suppressing your power.
Take out your journal. What are some things that your mind has told you that have held you back? How are you limited by your self-talk? Write these out, in the form of, for example, “I’m not smart enough to earn the promotion,” or “My business is bound to fail.” Write out each thought, and then leave a blank line below it.
Take your sweet time — hours, if you want. When you’re done, move on to the second half of this activity below.
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Take a look at that list. Maybe it feels important for you to sit with these for a few minutes. (It’s interesting to see your negative self-talk written out, because it looks so much more ridiculous than it sounds when your brains says it.)
Now, one by one, cross out each negative thought, and change it into a positive affirmation. For example:
I’m not smart enough to earn the promotion.
I am smart enough to earn the promotion.
My business is bound to fail.
My business is bound to succeed.
Finally, for each affirmation, close your eyes and repeat it in your head (or out loud) ten times, or until you start to feel it’s truth.
This exercise shows you how to take control of your self-talk. Whenever you notice your brain telling you one of these negative thoughts, change it into an affirmation.