Self-talk is your thoughts making themselves known to you. Low self esteem brings with it very negative self-talk. Negative self-talk can lead to low self esteem, no confidence or even depression and this leads to more negative thought. That's right, our self-talk, or the words our inner dialogue uses when we think, can increase our stress levels, limit our potential, and affect our experiences in life.

Negative self-talk can interfere with learning since it reinforces feelings of failure, thereby increasing the probability of continued failure. It also creates an unproductive level of anxiety. Remedies for negative self-talk include listening to yourself so that you become aware of what you are doing and then you can refocus your thinking and attention in more productive ways. Your self-talk can be like an internal coach, encouraging you, boosting your confidence, believing in you, and motivating you to achieve your goals. Or it can be like an internal bully, undermining you, criticizing you and beating upon you when you're down. Negative self-talk is usually a mixture of half-truths, poor logic, and distortions of reality that perpetuate negative emotions, such as pessimism, guilt, fear, and anxiety. When you catch your negative self-talk, take a deep breath, relax, and begin to talk positively to yourself.

Learning how to recognize negative self-talk and change it into positive self-talk is an absolutely necessary skill that is required to advance your level of performance. Make positive self-talk your normal mode of operation, and you'll see a tremendous difference in your life. You can also help yourself develop more positive self-talk by associating with positive, active people. It cannot be overstated the impact that positive self-talk and affirmative statements can have on helping you toward the goals that you have set for yourself.

Much of our self-talk occurs automatically. We aren't even aware that it is occurring and this is why it is so damaging. However, if we take the time to consciously talk to ourselves, we can control what we say and therefore determine what type of information we plant in our subconscious mind.

Our self-talk determines how we perceive our world. It determines our reality. If we do not like our reality, then we have to change our self-talk which will impact our beliefs. As our beliefs change to match our new self-talk then our perception also changes. What we perceive is our reality. Our self-talk reflects and creates our emotional states. Our self-talk can influence our self-esteem, outlook, energy level, performance, and relationships with others.

One way to reprogram your self-talk is by repeating positive affirmations until you begin to get a good sense of what positive thinking really is. To maintain positive self-talk, fill your mind with uplifting ideas. Let your self-talk be like the soothing, supportive words of a counselor, friend, or mentor. As you improve your self-talk, commit to changing your actions accordingly.

Shad Helmstetter, a well-known psychologist said, ""You can change your negative self-talk with awareness and practice. In my counseling practice, I found that teaching my clients how to manage their negative self-talk created a profound change in the way they related to themselves and the world.""

Using self-talk that is optimistic rather than pessimistic has stress management benefits, productivity benefits and even health benefits that have been proven by research. You can't change your past, but you can change the way you talk to yourself today. Unlike external factors, self-talk is completely within each individual's control and can be altered to fit one's needs. Furthermore, self-talk strategies can be taught from one person to another.

The utilization of positive self-talk as a means for personal improvement is possibly one of the most significant discoveries of the past half century. However, self-talk is not just a predictor or barometer of behavior. It also has the potential to increase personal performance. With all these potential positive and negative effects of self-talk, it is of paramount significance that ultimate control lies within each of us.

Research has shown that employees who become aware of their negative self-talk, then rethink and alter it, can significantly increase job performance. While there is proof that positive self-talk can enhance organizational performance, this information rarely appears in management literature. This is a shame, because if managers were aware of this fact, they would have a tool to use to increase productivity and improve the morale of everyone they work with.

There is also a similar need for healers to understand the effects of positive self-talk on injury recovery so that they may help facilitate the healing process by informing and supporting those who are injured. Ievleva & Orlick (1991) conducted a study on how the quality of self-talk affected the healing process of sports related injuries. They found that persons who engaged in positive self-talk clearly had a quicker recovery time than those who were negative.

Within the last few years, many sports teams hired psychologists to advise their players on how to think about their abilities and their capabilities. In many cases these psychologists convinced the players that they were exceptional and capable of beating all their opponents. When the players believed this, they went on to play fantastic games and win their championships. In other instances, the players started to play like champions then their negative self-talk took over and their performance nosedived. This led to the term "They lost their confidence."

It has been scientifically proved that human beings can do anything that they truly believe that they can do. We have had blind people climb Mount Everest; crippled people in wheel chairs roll themselves around the world; one-legged people run thousands of miles across a country. All of these amazing things have been accomplished because the individuals involved convinced themselves with positive self-talk that they could accomplish the tasks they set for themselves.

In conclusion, self-talk is an activity that everyone engages in on a regular basis. It has the potential for both positive and negative results. Awareness of your self-talk is the first step toward controlling and utilizing it for your benefit. If you want an ultimate lifestyle, then here is the secret. Practice positive self-talk continually and come to believe what you tell yourself. When you do, you will be able to accomplish anything that you want to. Your subconscious mind which governs your thoughts, actions and beliefs does not know truth from fiction. It just reacts to the information that is fed to it. The more you repeat the same type of information, the more the subconscious mind takes it as fact. So feed it a constant supply of positive uplifting chatter and see the great difference it will make in your life. Remember, the only limitations that you have, are the ones you put on yourself.

 About the author: Gilbert Griffiths helped thousands of people during a professional career that spanned more than 39 years. He learned the Ultimate Lifestyle Secrets of the many successful people he dealt with. If you would like to learn these Ultimate Lifestyle Secrets go to http://www.rockettosuccess.com and sign up for his FREE newsletter.

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