Positivity - The Next Two Rules

In the last post, we spoke about the 1st two rules of positivity which we term as Self Speak. (Apologies by the way, for this long overdue follow up)

Today we look at the next two rules which to improve our positivity.

Rule 3 - Consciously improve your self-speak. When someone compliments you on something good, learn to follow up with something positive; saying it out loud will help you to strengthen your beliefs in it.

So when your gym trainer says "Your workout today on the treadmill went great!", reply with something like "Thanks! I've been working really hard to improve and I think it's working!" instead of "I think I was just lucky today"

"But won't that seem like over-inflating myself?"

Think about it:

1) You put in the efforts didn't you?

2) Don't you deserve to feel good about yourself ?

Yes! We all deserve and need to! 

Because no one else will do nor say the same good things to you, as well or as willing as yourself!

Old habits are hard to break, so if you've been full of negative self talk for years like most people, a few kind words to yourself aren't going to fix the problem overnight. What you have to learn is how to make a concentrated effort to have some daily "self-conversation" to start taking over the negative.

Rule 4 - use visualization to literally see yourself removing such bad programs from your brain just like you remove unwanted software from your PC and replace them with positive self talk. Tell yourself each new day:

"I'm ready for anything!"

"I'm confident of my ability to survive!"

"I'm ready to make the right decisions"

"I'm all set to win every challenge!"

And that's it! The total 4 rules of being positive.

Well.. talking to yourself might seem crazy at first, but Hey! if learning and understanding how your conscious and unconscious mind works allows you to gain that mental edge to perform at your peak, why not?!

Besides... we all speak to ourselves constantly, don't we?

Jason

Positivity - The 1st Two Rules

1) Don't think of the red apple.
2) Don't look to your kitchen and see / wonder what your kids or spouse is doing.
3) Don't imagine your pet dog walking around like Goofy.

Bet you had a hard time to NOT do any of the above!

Why?

Because there are certain words and instructions which the human brain does not register; the "don't" word being one of them.

This is one of the many exercises our trainees used to go through while I was running training workshops few years back. ( Stop trying already! )

As the training workshops back then was related to Personal Protection; one of the most important factors we always share with our participants in terms of personal, survival, security or law enforcement safety is:

How we talk to ourselves - a.k.a Self Talk

Admit it! Yes! We do talk to ourselves! Don't you? - such Self Talk not only applied to those physical altercations as taught during our training but also in our personal, professional lives.

We all do, be it in words, or even a feeling described as butterflies in the stomach; especially when you're on a date with a hunk/ babe but feels like they are James Bond or La Femme Nakita waiting to pull their guns out on you?

Rule 1 - Listen to the truth.

Learn to trust your gut and your instincts, they are usually right. Not all self-talk is silent and unconscious. Most of us have spent years saying something negative about ourselves over and over without understanding how this can affect us.(ADMIT IT!)

• “I’m just lousy with my dates! ”
• “I can’t read a map !"
• “I can't control my diet!"
• “I always can't remember where I left my phone in the kitchen”
• “I hate to talk in front of a crowd,”

...... and lots more.....

Work? Do you ever find yourself saying

• “I’m only an average employee”
• “My boss doesn’t like me”
• “I’m no good at reports”

...... and even lots more.....

Any of the above sounds familiar?

Rule 2 - protect yourself from the negative.

Like most things, this is easier said than done. You can walk into the gym and tell yourself, “I’m gonna love the run on the mill today!” or "I'm gonna love my workout today!"

But if you don’t change your behavior, your technique, or your attitude, you’re probably still going to hate it.

Examine why you hate the gym:

• Is the machine too hi-tech to use or too big for you?
• Have you tried to ask for help from the trainers? or are you reluctant to?
• Have you had some bad training / experience?

Fix the outside, and then change that negative self talk into a positive.

• “I’m gonna do great today because I asked the trainers for help!”
• “I’m gonna rock today because I finally figured how it works!”

Self talk isn't just about words, it’s also about behavior, attitude and actions

When you finish an hour on mill, 30 pushups, crunches etc. do you tell yourself:

• “Great job I did there!”

Or do you just say

• “Wow that was lucky.”

When the someone compliments you on your great workout, do you say

• “Thanks man!”

or do you just say

• “It was no big deal, it's a lucky day.”

This is our "Self Speak". We talk to ourselves everyday, the only challenge is most people tend to talk to themselves more on the negative end, rather than on the positive spectrum.

Hopefully with this first 2 rules and with practice, we are all able to slowly see how a simple shift in our own internal paradigm enables an increase in the positive energy everyone is capable of carrying.

Jason