I have had the good fortune to work with a variety of people during my career ranging from CEOs to elite athletes, but one of my favorite experiences was working with a young teen dealing with school phobia. I want to share this story with you because it is tutorial for all of us.
Self-Sabotaging Self-Talk
Everyone I have ever communicated with has, from time to time, experienced self-sabotaging inner chatter. Thoughts of doubt, unworthiness, incapability, and so forth are not uncommon. In fact, I would venture to say that every human being has known this sort of self-talk at some time. Unfortunately, it is exactly this sort of internal dialogue that prevents many, if not most, from pursuing their preferred life path and developing the best version of themselves possible.
Knowing this, one afternoon I sat down with this young person and asked them, “What goes through your mind when you feel all this tension and anxiety coming on?” I listened to what they had to tell me and encouraged them to flesh it all out until we had well exhausted the subject. I made notes of course throughout our interaction and then I asked them, “What would you like your thoughts to be? What would you like going through your mind in these situations that have troubled you up until now?”
Choosing Self-Talk
They thought for a while and then began to suggest what they’d like to flow through their mind. I listened and recorded their ideas and then suggested some additional counter statements to what they had initially disclosed by way of the thoughts they had experienced in the past. For example, a counter to a statement such as “I feel threatened” could be “I feel secure.” When we were done, we had scripted a set of affirmations that I then embedded in our patented InnerTalk technology.
Did this work? Indeed it did! Sometimes all we need to do is change the way we talk to ourselves to improve the quality of our lives and enhance our future. That’s what InnerTalk is all about and why millions have used our programs. If you find yourself holding yourself back because of your self-talk, InnerTalk can change that for you. Our programs are built around profiles that encourage your success and they literally prime your self-talk. Like priming a carburetor with a little gasoline to start the engine, priming your self-talk can start a whole new you—and remember, it’s never too late.
Be the best version of yourself and life will reward you!
Thanks for the read,
Eldon
Eldon Taylor, PhD
NY Time Bestselling Author of Choices and Illusion