Submitted by: Theodosios Pilisis
In our daily lives we often use a negative way of self-talk and as a result we feel emotions such as sadness, anger and fear. In particular, we speak to ourselves in a negative and critical way and use words and phrases that hurt us.
One way to change our self-talk is to find expressions that fit us and contain positive words and our strengths. It is important to frequently use our positive self-talk until it becomes a habit.
Examples of positive self-talk are:
I am brave
I love myself
I accept myself
I respect myself
I am strong
I am safe
I love other people and they love me
I am thankful
I can do it
I learn from my mistakes
I forgive myself
I forgive others
I take care of my body
I take care of my soul and spirit
I am great
I am unique
I can solve my problems easily
I am calm
I am relaxed
I enjoy life
I smile everyday
I have humor
I choose joy and optimism
I am creative
My life has meaning
I stop and breathe
In the table below you can write your own positive self-talk statements
(Here we need a simple table)
We can write our positive statements on cards and have them with us, we can sing them, we can write them in a notebook, we can paint them or we can make a collage.
Positive self-talk reinforces and improves (e.g. Brown, 2014. Morin, 2016):
Our confidence
Our self esteem
Our emotional and social well-being
Our psychosocial resilience
Our interpersonal relationships.
In a world full of critics we must love and encourage ourselves. Positive self-talk can help us in our personal development and in improving our psychosocial functioning.
References
Brown, B. (2014). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead. Athens: METAIXMIO Publications.
Morin, A. (2016). 13 things mentally strong people don’t do. Athens: PSICHOGIOS Publications.
Theodosios Pilisis B.S.W. M.Sc. C.S.C. L.S.W. C.P.D.P.E. is a Licensed Social Worker, a Certified Counselor, a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator and an educator at the University of the Aegean in Greece.