Retake Control: Understanding Negative Self-Talk

Understanding Negative Self-Talk

Negative self-talk is an innate part of the human experience. It manifests in a number of different ways for everyone. Persistent negative self-talk, if left unchecked can create a barrier to one’s personal and professional growth. One's thoughts often play a major role in how the perceive themselves and ultimately how they perceive the world around them.

In its simplest form, negative self-talk refers to the critical and often overly harsh inner voice that makes you doubt your capabilities. The inner voice often creeps in and makes you doubt your abilities, undermines your confidence and convinces you that you are destined to fail. Having control over this inner voice is what separates the greats from those too shrouded in self-doubt to take action. For liberation in not only the workplace but in all other aspects of life, one needs to be aware of and have control over their inner voice. Pushing past this internal barrier is essential to ensuring continued growth.

Negative self-talk comes in many forms. The voice manifests in several ways. Here are a few common manifestations of negative self-talk:

Types of Negative Self-Talk: The Perfectionist

This voice demands flawlessness in all actions taken, regardless of the external factors. It demands perfection in every action and criticizes any mistake, no matter how small.

While the pursuit of perfection in itself is not inherently bad, in fact, one must always strive to be better than they are. The manner in which it manifests here is unhealthy. It sets unrealistic standards that are impossible to meet and negatively impacts your confidence once you inevitably fail to meet these unrealistic standards.

Types of Negative Self-Talk: The Catastrophizer

This voice assumes the worst possible outcome in any situation, leading to unnecessary stress and anxiety. Before a task is even performed or during the performance of a task, this voice fills your head with images of the worst possible outcome.

While it is important to plan for the future and mitigate any issues that may present challenges in the future, this type of planning should be controlled. Do not plan to fail, rather visualise your success and mitigate any issues you predict.

Types of Negative Self-Talk: The Critic

This voice constantly points out your shortcomings and magnifies your flaws, making you feel inadequate.

While it is important to introspect and evaluate your output, there is a thin line between introspection and being overly critical. Focusing on only the negatives in a situation will ensure that all you see are the negatives and completely bypass the positives. This kind of thinking often overshadows the small victories along the way toward a specific milestone.

Strategies for Overcoming Negative Self-Talk

Recognize and Challenge Negative Thoughts: The first step in overcoming negative self-talk is to become aware of it. When you catch yourself thinking negatively, challenge those thoughts. Ask yourself if they are based on facts or if you’re being overly critical.

More often than not, there is no factual basis at the root of negative self-talk. If you logically breakdown the negative self-talk to it’s core, you will find that the basis of these thoughts are on assumptions, over critical predictions and negative viewpoints. Take the facts for what they are and challenge your inner voice.

Practice Positive Affirmations: Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. For example, if you think, "I’m going to mess up this presentation," counter it with, "I’ve prepared well, and I’m capable of delivering a great presentation."

The easiest way to go about this would be practicing being kind to yourself. You would not speak to your colleagues, friends and family in the manner that your innervoice speaks to you in. Practice that same kindness you show others but direct it inwards. Constantly reaffirm yourself whenever you experience negative thoughts.?

Focus on Progress, Not Perfection: Shift your focus from achieving perfection to making progress. Celebrate small victories and recognize that mistakes are a natural part of learning and growth. Give yourself enough room to grow and make mistakes along the way.

Any progress, no matter how small is not wasted so long as you learn from it. You will never be perfect, strive for achieving a state as close to perfection as possible while also recognizing that perfection is impossible to attain. Focus on the progress made along the journey towards perfection.

Retake Control

Negative self-talk can be a silent saboteur, holding you back from reaching your full potential. By recognizing and addressing these harmful thoughts, you can cultivate a more positive and productive mindset. Remember, you have the power to change your inner dialogue and, in so doing, change your work life for the better.

You are your thoughts. Be an active protagonist in your own life and master the quality of your thoughts.