Watch what you say!

Worker bees need to dance to communicate to the rest of the hive to know where there is a good source of pollen or nectar. If the worker bees do not "talk" right then it can send the rest of the hive into danger.

Similarly to us, we have to be careful about what we say; but I am not talking about talking to other people around us. I will be looking more at how we need to watch what we say to ourselves.

A lot of people are aware of an inner voice that sort of continuously narrates their life throughout the day. The brain uses this inner voice, or self-talk, to interpret and process each day's events. It combines conscious ideas with unconscious beliefs and prejudices. Our self-talk can either be positive and uplifting or depressing and harmful. When positive self-talk is used to ease worries and boost confidence, it may be effective.

If we look at the expression "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." is a good expression to try and remember especially when we are dealing with negative self-talk but this expression is really difficult to live by and if we change it to fit more common circumstances then it will rather be "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will break my heart.".

It is similar if we look at Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.". Whether believer or agnostic, this verse can still have relevance to our self-talk. Are we staying words to ourselves that can lift our mood or help us get the motivation to try or complete a task (speaking life) or are we speaking about failure and depression that can cause us to give up on tasks and relationships (death)?

This speaking life or death can be seen with the psychological term "self-fulling prophecy" which says when our expectations and beliefs subconsciously shape how we act. So if we keep speaking failure into aspects of our lives then we will start acting in a way that will cause us to fail.

If you feel that you are struggling with negative self-talk. You are welcome to book a counselling session.

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