Watch your language (when you talk to yourself)

Image by T-kinoko (iStock)

Watch Your Language! (When you talk to yourself)

When something you do doesn’t turn out as planned, do you scold yourself, reminding yourself of what you should have done? How often do you tell yourself that you’re wonderful, just perfect the way you are and worthy of love and respect? If you’re like me, the answer is hardly ever.

Do you have a self-care plan to nurture yourself?

I recently learned about creating a self-care plan: a plan for nurturing yourself when you’re feeling low or times are tough. You can list ways to soothe yourself – ways that are uniquely tailored for you. For some, staying home with a good book and a hot cup of tea is very nurturing. For others, going out for a run may be just what’s needed to soothe the soul. The important thing is that you discover what you can do to help make yourself feel better when needed.

How about an emotional self-care routine?

In the same way that exercising and eating healthy food helps your immune system, adopting an emotional self-care routine can elevate your confidence and courage. That way, when you’re facing a fear such as fear of failure, you’ll already have cultivated some personal power to draw from.

I tried this myself: my goal was to sit quietly for 15 minutes, once a week, thinking positive, encouraging thoughts about myself. I thought it would be easy, but I found myself regularly skipping this “task”, despite numerous electronic reminders. I struggled to make it a priority.

Watch your language.

The fact that I referred to it as a “task” is an indication of me using counterproductive language. Calling it a task is like calling it a chore. No wonder I had little interest in making it a habit. I would I be more drawn to it if I called it my “all-important new self-care act”. As Andy Puddicombe writes, noticing how we speak to ourselves is the first step to changing negative thought patterns.

When you’re facing your fears, how do you speak to yourself? Instead of thinking “there’s that scary action I’m dreading”, try “here’s that important first step that I know I am capable of” and feel the difference.

What words will you use to support yourself?

Woman holding a heart

Image by T-kinoko (iStock)

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