subject: Reduce Stress By Banishing Negative Self Talk [print this page] Reduce Stress By Banishing Negative Self Talk
Stress occurs whenever we feel that too much is being asked of us and we have no control over the situation, such as tackling a complex project with tight deadlines just as your colleague goes on vacation, or possibly juggling a dental appointment with the school Nativity play and the Christmas food shop all in the same afternoon. But what about the stress we all put ourselves under every day? Why, when we are in control do we still make excuses not to do something that we actually DO want to do?Why do we stress our already stressful lives with such self sabotage?Perhaps the biggest stressor in the developed world today is time pressure. We never seem to have enough time. And yet we all seem to make time to watch our favorite soaps on the TV, or go to a ball game or daydream listening to the songs we just downloaded. So maybe using lack of time as an excuse is simply a way of talking ourselves out of something we actually did not want to do in the first place. Or maybe there is another issue.Whilst you MAY have a valid reason for not doing something right NOW, there is no reason to suppose we will not have time at some point in the future. More often than not, our excuses are just negative self talk rooted in some other deep insecurity. And it is this insecurity which causes us everyday stress. Maybe you have poor self esteem and do not truly believe you are worthy of success? Whatever the reason, constant negative self talk can drag us into a downward spiral of inactivity and under achievement. We start to believe in our own excuses, accepting them as true. They can make us miss opportunities and may even make us lead smaller lives than we really want to.If you find yourself making excuses for why you are not doing something you actually DO want to do, then you are using negative self talk to increase your own stress levels. Stop excuses from destroying your life. If you would rather live life to the max, laugh lots and meet challenges with excited anticipation, then look inside yourself and figure out why you are using negative self talk - and address this issue. Counseling, self hypnosis and positive affirmations can all help with this, which makes these all very good stress relief techniques . But YOU have to do themWhen repeated often enough, self talk becomes real. So make sure your self talk is positive. Do not let your excuses hold you hostage. Use positive affirmations to help change your mindset and you will become empowered, achieve more and feel less stressed.
