(The Power of Positive Self Talk}

Who do you think you talk to the most each day?  Your husband, your kids, coworkers?  Who would've thought that the person you talk to the most is yourself.  Our internal (and let's face it, sometimes external) conversations shift how we view the world and influence every part of our lives- relationships, achievements, attitude and ultimately our level of happiness.

When I first Read Whole30, I'll be honest to say that I was totally turned off by the no scale rule.  How in the world could I possibly hold myself accountable and judge my level of success (and level of worthiness) without stepping on the scale?!  The Whole30 program focuses on non scale victories (NSV).  Is your skin clearer?  Do your clothes fit better?  Are you getting better sleep?  Do you feel more energized and focused?  Pssshhh.  I told myself over and over that NSV victories are load of hogwash.  They are the consolation prize for not actually losing any weight.  I continued to step on the scale and continued to beat myself down with negative self talk.

Over and over again I would eat healthy, workout, and feel great about myself.  Then I stepped on the scale and allowed it to send me into a tailspin---loads and loads of negative self-talk.  It was the definition of  craziness.  I repeated the same process over and over again even though I knew the negative relationship with the scale wasn't healthy.

Then, one day, I was perusing for recipes during an intense meal planning session and came across an article: Self Talk 101: Why You Need To Believe In Yourself by Jim Jensen.  I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon it, I think it came up in a Tweet or an Instagram thread I was following.  It hit me hard.

"So, what we say to ourselves or how we may describe ourselves to others occurs through the conscious level of thought. If we are repeatedly saying…

“I can’t do this.”

“My marriage is falling apart.”

“I never seem to have enough money.”

…then these become “instructions” to the subconscious, whose duty it is to work tirelessly to ensure these “instructions” are brought into reality."    

"By the time we reached six years of age, many of our early self concept) had been formed. And they weren’t formed by the words we heard from others, but how we interpreted those words with our own self talk."

"If you want to change your life, start by changing the way you talk to yourself."

Good golly. I am sure I am not the only one who questions myself, doubts myself, and puts myself down.  Instantly I began to wonder who I would be, who I could be, and what I could do if I focused on sending myself only positive messages.

We are strong.  We are smart.  We are capable.  We are worthy.  Most of us spend all of our time sending these positive messages to other people---our spouses, coworkers, children...but we fail to send these same messages to ourselves.  It think it's critical that we start to forgive ourselves, provide ourselves some grace, accept our faults, but also recognize all of the great things we love about ourselves-even those non scale victories I was so hesitant to recognize when I began this journey.   

What messages do you send yourself on the regular? Are they helpful and positive?  What can you compliment or recognize about yourself that would help shift your mindset?