You’re Listening
You will never speak to anyone more than you speak to yourself in your mind.
If you had a friend, and every day you called them mean names, how long would they remain your friend? And if you daily expressed doubt about their ideas and reminded them often of all of their past failures, how would you expect them to react? Would you treat a friend like that? I think most of would treat complete strangers more kindly.
So why do we say and do those unkind things to ourselves? Let’s try to eavesdrop on those internal conversations – to think about what we say and think about. A person who can think about about what their thinking about is considered to be meta-cognitive. If thinking about what you think about sounds like a recipe for a brain cramp, don’t despair. For a few minutes right now as you go about your business, try to ‘narrate’ your thoughts the way people sometimes do in a television show or movie. Try that a couple times today, especially if you’re walking or driving. Listen in on those internal conversations. And if (when) you hear yourself express negativity, doubt or something mean-spirited, gently correct yourself. “That’s not very kind, let’s try that again.” When you find a kinder way to tell the story, stop for just a moment to celebrate your shift of thinking. “Look at me – getting kinder every day!” That brief celebration significantly increases your chances of doing it again. Building a kinder ‘habit of thought’ is another example of #GoodMedicine. Your thoughts move the plot of your story for better or worse. Let’s think and speak better of ourselves and watch what happens.
Have you told yourself lately that you’re awesome? http://ow.ly/i/B5C3J
