There’s an interesting post over at The Winning Attitude, talking about how we focus on the negative, particularly with respect to self-talk, our inner voice.
For most people, the inner voice is the loudest influencer on our daily lives. Our coach, our adviser and our critic. And with respect to the critic, of course constructive criticism is useful, but how often is our inner critic constructive?? As Robert Anton Wilson would put it, the “thinker” part of our brains comes up with an idea to believe in, and the “prover” part sets about finding data and making it fit to prove that we’re right. This self-fulfilling prophesy gets us focusing on the negative aspects of who we are and, as you get what you focus on, this type of thought can suffocate creativity, ambition and enthusiasm, leaving you ever more negative.
So something as simple as positive self-talk can break that cycle. Start with something small; a few compliments here and there, and how well you are working towards your goals, then gradually open it up and become more and more positive. After all, if you can’t be positive with yourself, who can you be positive with?
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