The Power of Self-Talk to Encourage

Friday, December 30, 2022 by Catherine Gilliland | Support Through Rough Patches

If Will Durant's statement summarizing several of Aristotle's teachings is true, then the notion that self-talk is a powerful shaping force in our life is also true. Capable of building you up or tearing you down, your internal dialogue is casting a mold for the individual you are becoming.

In my recent article, Encouraging Your Children, I addressed the power of verbal encouragement for our kiddos. Of equal importance is the quality of the uplifting discourse we receive from others and that which we hold within our own selves.

"We are what we repeatedly do." Into what manner of an individual is your internal dialogue shaping you? Do you find it easy to slip into a negative, discouraging type of conversation with yourself, especially if the mid-winter blues have kicked in?  What does it take to excise the negative tongue and replace it with uplifting maxims?

I have dedicated resources to which I turn on a daily basis, to ensure my personal dialogue (that which occurs in my head) imparts courage, life, and truth. I surround myself with these citations, I read them regularly, and I am intentional to refute the negative that inevitably creeps in with my arsenal of  constructive words. My personal favorite source is the Bible. I also turn to quotations and passages others have written. 

What are the sources you turn to when life is weighty, you've contracted a case of grumpiness, or you've become like a snapping turtle? I challenge you to create or expand your personal source list. It is my hope that the ideas that follow become a springboard for your own inventory of inspiration, that they grow into your meditation, and nurture habits of excellence in your life, eventually spilling over into the lives of others and causing a magnificent ripple effect!

"If you don't pay attention to what has your attention, it may take more of your attention than it deserves." David Allen

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” ~Arthur Ashe

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~Anne Frank

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” ~Alexander Graham Bell

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”~Helen Keller

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” ~Helen Keller