Positive Self-Talk Can Become Your Number One Key To Success

We often speak to ourselves in a way we wouldn't dream of speaking to anyone else.

We can be a very harsh critic of our own mistakes, even though we would be more tolerant or forgiving of almost anyone else having made the same error.
Sometimes we are almost automatic with our mental "put-downs" and simply don't realize how enormous the effect created by the drip, drip of negativity can be.

It's a bit like steadily gaining weight from just one candy bar each day.

Over time, those individual candies add up to obesity, just as our negativity can builds up and chip away at our once happy and optimistic manner.

Our internal dialogue is responsible for a very large part of how we feel - so it is essential to take a little time to analyze what we actually say in the privacy of our own thoughts.

It makes sense to try to improve how we feel about ourselves because we are then more likely to be successful in work, in our relationships, to be generally happier and healthier - and probably even live longer.

How can anyone think that putting themselves down, mentally, is ever a good idea?

Yet so many people have an ongoing commentary in their head reminding themselves of past embarrassments or failures, and not using these memories constructively. Look on it as your own individual responsibility to take whatever benefit you can from a painful memory - then banish it from your mind by replacing it with thoughts of happier times.

If we can accept the idea that we are responsible for our own happiness and feelings of self worth, we can take control of emotions to some extent. Realizing that we might not always be able to control what happens to us, but that we have a choice about how we process and react to what happens to us, gives us a significant power to determine our own future happiness.

When we feel confident we are better able to accept new challenges. This makes us more likely to develop new skills, to meet new people and enjoy a fuller, richer life. People with low self confidence may be more likely to avoid new opportunities and therefore limit their chances of career progression, or miss the introductions that may lead to mutually rewarding long-term relationships.

Our self image is all about how we feel about ourselves. Our feelings are a mixture of both positive and negative, based on our own previous experiences. Our unique situation including family circumstances, health, age and relationships all contribute to our previous experience.

The important thing is how we handle the various experiences. For example, a very negative comment doesn't always have to be taken at face value.
We should first consider its source - maybe that person has no insight into the situation and their comment should be simply discarded.

Perhaps they have a very useful point to make, which might even help us improve - they've just worded it in a clumsy way.

Or perhaps we were simply off track and we did actually need someone to put us straight, however bluntly.

Think it through as if the comment had been made to someone else and you are talking to that person about the motives that may lie behind the comment.

Putting it at a distance like that can help take the sting out of the remark and we then might just be able to find a silver lining.

Make it a habit to always look for the good in whatever situation you find yourself in and you'll soon escape from any dips in your mood.
You'll soon find that its easier to speak kindly to yourself when you're feeling a bit happier about life in general.

Reframing the annoying little embarrassments by looking for just a grain of silver can help you put a stop to revisiting them so frequently.
You can then spend your idle moments concentrating on what you can genuinely feel good about, instead.

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If you want to know more about Orison Swett Marden and how his works inspired Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale, Anthony Robbins, and many others then visit http://www.MardensKeysToSuccess.com where you can also gain FREE access to Brendan McKeogh's mini-course on Marden plus a FREE copy of the first chapter of "Marden's Keys To Success."
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