How do you talk to yourself? Is it love or poison?

by Joanna Wilczynska MA
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Your internal dialogue can be an incredibly powerful tool in your professional and personal life - but what is it that you are actually saying to yourself?

- This will never work
- I don't know where to begin
- I'm too busy to start now
- I'm not ready yet
- I can't do it, it's too much
- I'm not qualified/intelligent/skilled enough... others do it way better...

Does the list go on? Are these facts or opinions... or excuses? Based on what?

And now think - what would you say to your best friend if they were talking about themselves like this? Would you nod and say "Yes, you're right, don't even go there" or would you have a more balanced, kinder view?

We can be overly critical of ourselves but reframing the situation as if it was our friend's predicament can help us see things in a different light. So listen to your inner dialogue, notice what you hear and ask yourself: "Would I say THAT to my best friend?" And if the answer is "no", what would you say instead?