I’m Talking To Myself Again – Am I Crazy?
Do you find yourself talking to yourself? Do you find yourself questioning your sanity? I heard once that you are only crazy if you actually answer yourself. Well, maybe we aren’t crazy – in fact – maybe self-talk is what keeps us sane!
My May/June edition of Psychology Today actually had an article about Self-Talk, The Voice of Reason. I’ll buy that just on the title – I always knew I was more reasonable than others – my logic always worked for me. Right? As it turns out – yes, you do have the best advice for yourself – that is if – and only if – you are kind, loving, and caring toward yourself.
It also seems to make a difference as to how you address yourself. Do you speak to yourself in the first person, “I am so nervous,” or in the third person, “OK Judith, you have nothing to be nervous about, get control here?” Which do you think is better? We know that people who speak about themselves in the third person are nuts – right? Actually, maybe (or at least drive you, the listener, nuts) – but if they speak to themselves in the third person – as you would a dear friend – then they may actually be doing themselves a favor.
Think about it. If you were talking to a dear friend about something challenging – say a job interview – you would probably say something like, “Don’t worry, you are going to do great, you have the skills, they will love you.” Well, what if you are your own “good friend,” and talk to yourself that way? It works just as well – maybe better. “Don’t worry Judith, you can do this, you are great, you have the skills, they are going to love you.” It’s actually a skill we brought through the generations that has saved us from extinction. As they say in the article, “If self-talk is one of the great achievements of humanness, a gift from our evolutionary forebears and caretakers, who soothed and stoked us with words, it is, in turn, one of the deep-seated drivers of human evolution.”
So, how does this information affect self-affirmations? Self-affirmations have received a lot of bad press in the past few years, but as it turns out – they can be very helpful. Saying positive things to yourself about who you are or how you wish to be can actually help. Things such as: “I feel confident,” “I am beautiful and intelligent,” “Judith you are going to do great at that interview,” can really help boost your outlook and how your see yourself.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well as what affirmations have worked for you. Please share them below. And keep talking nicely to yourself – you are worth only the highest of praise.
Big Hugs!
Judith
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