Negative Self-Talk

Been talking about self-sabotage.

Thoughts swirl about my head, sometimes forming a conversation, one in which I might ask a question, get an answer, and continue the dialogue (preferably in silence).

In writing, we call this introspection or internal monologue.

I call it self-talk.

Some people do this more than others. Some not at all, or seeminglyso. Others, non-stop.

Whatever your frequency of self-talk might be, what's most important is the tenor of your self-talk.

Are you encouraging and kind to yourself?

Do you speak affirmations to yourself?

Do you quote Scripture to yourself?

Do you see yourself with your inner eye in a positive manner?

Do you envision yourself as beautiful?

Do you bring to rememberance happy, joyful times?

Or...

Do you have negative tapes and images that play over and over in your head?

Are your images of negative, unhappy events or times?

Do you hear whispers that nudge you toward the people, places, and things that you know are not good for you?

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Rom 12:2 NLT

We need to take control of our thoughts and wrestle them into submission.

How do we do this?
By feeding positive thoughts and images into our soul.
You are what you eat pertains to more than food. That's why so many people are up in arms about the many negative images the media blasts 24-7 and to which our children are particularly vulnerable. It's about the music we listen to, the books we read, the movies we watch, the places we spend time, the people we allow to be around us, the influencers we choose to follow. And the most powerful influencer we have is God's Word.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalms 119:11

And that you might not sin against yourself.

By reciting affirmations.
It's pretty hard to tell yourself, "I'm beautiful" every day--every single day--and not start to believe it. Oh, you might not be there 100% on the first day, the second, or even the four-hundredth but, if you keep saying it, it will take root.

For as a man thinketh, so is he. Prov 23:7 KJV

By acting the part.
If you say, "I'm beautiful", then you should act as though you are beautiful. If you water your affirmations, your good thought, by acting as though you believe them, they will blossom and before you know it, you'll have a garden of positive thought blooming in you.

By allowing the blessed peace of God seep into your spirit.
This takes meditation. Listening to God. If you're hearing negative things more loudly than the positive, you know it's not God speaking!

I've had moments when I've had to pray, then argue with myself, then pray again and listen to God before I could get my thoughts under control. Sometimes it's one session. Sometimes it takes a few days. When I'm done, I sometimes feel wholly renewed and rejuvenated. Sometimes I feel optimistic but mentally drained.

However it occurs, it's okay. Because I'm worth the battle.

Do you suffer from negative self-talk? If so, what things do you do to keep it from taking root (or to pluck up the roots already in your mental ground)?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia