It’s Time For a Little Chat…With Yourself!

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big believer in the power of positive thinking.  I know there’s no better way to get what you want than to believe that you can; I also know that optimism is essential to success.  The big question everyone always asks, though, is “How do I do it? How do I become a positive thinker when my life/business/career is so crappy?”

That’s a great question with a really simple answer: you need to have a little chat with yourself.  I’m serious!  One of the biggest saboteurs to success is that nagging little voice in your head that says things like “Yeah, but…”, “I can’t do that!”, “That’ll never really happen!” and all the countless other negative phrases we say to ourselves when we have a great idea or try to take some kind positive action.  The voice might be that of a parent, a teacher, a sibling, an old boss…all those folks who, whether they meant to or not, planted seeds of negativity in our brains that we’ve never quite been able to shake.

Well, it’s time to strangle that little voice and replace it with a new, more supportive one, and it’s going to be easier than you think.  I’m going to encourage you to do something that’s going to feel a little weird, possibly even a little uncomfortable (imagine that!), but that will pay huge dividends in your personal development.  I’m going to encourage you to start doing…*gulp*…affirmations.

Now before you write me off as a new-age wacko in salesperson’s clothes, let me remind you that the Great Ones (Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, etc.) all encourage affirmations in one form or another.  And I agree with them all: positive self-talk is good for the soul.  More importantly, though, positive self-talk is GREAT for activity, which leads to results, which reinforces beliefs, which opens your eyes to greater potential, which spurs even greater activity…and so on.

But I’ve always had a problem with actually doing affirmations.  Why?  Well, because I felt a little silly.  Standing in front of my bathroom mirror and shouting positive phrases at myself while my wife was trying to sleep was always a little uncomfortable for me, so I never really got in the habit.  That is, until I found a nifty little shortcut that made doing affirmations and creating positive self-talk (and a more positive self-image) easy to do.

Using the sound recorder on my computer, I started recording positive phrases, things like “I’m a talented and intelligent business person” and “I’m always on time with customer proposals” and “I always make the time to read positive books”…really, anything I wanted to change my beliefs about was fair game.  Next, I transfered the file to my MP3 player (alternatively, you can burn the file to a CD), and I made a habit of listening to it for 10 minutes when I wake up in the morning and 10 minutes before I go to bed at night.

Presto!  I was doing affirmations!  And did it make a difference?  You bet it did!  Within just a few weeks, I was noticing a difference in my self-talk throughout the day, which very quickly made a difference in my behavior and level of activity.  I was surprised hat ow quickly this was having a positive impact on me.

So, set your doubts and cynicism aside and give this technique a try. Record some positive self-talk to replace the little voice in your head, then listen to it every day.  Believe me: the little chat you have with yourself every morning and evening will bring  you a new kind of power, the power of positive thinking!