Every week I receive lots of emails.
Whether it’s from community members or people who’ve come across The Wellness Bucket website.
They reach out to me asking for help to either lose weight, get fit, or a combination of the two.
I love getting these emails because it gives me a chance to help.
I’ve also noticed a pattern with these emails.
Negative Self-Talk Sucks
Regardless of the goal, there’s a pattern I continue to see from those reaching out to me for help who are having a hard time achieve their health and fitness goals.
A pattern that unfortunately, I don’t believe they’re aware of.
So what’s this pattern?
Negative self-talk.
Even though I haven’t actually having a conversation with them, it comes across in their email, their words, and how & what they write to me.
Here’s some examples:
“It’s been so many years that I’ve tried to lose weight that I just see it as it will never happen.”
“I’ve tried everything to lose weight but it just seem so hopeless. I let myself down every time.”
“I try to prove to myself that I can lose the weight but I only end up disappointed.”
“Why can’t I motivate myself and stay at it ? Why can’t I do it on my own?”
“I’m trying to lose weight but it’s so hard. I’m a bad runner too.”
Tough Love
Here’s the brutally honest truth… with statements like these, there is no chance of success.
Zero.
Negative self-talk is going to happen, it happens to all of us, including me.
Here’s some of mine…
“That was a lame workout I just completed.”
“Why are my runs so weak lately?”
“Why do you always forget to meditate?”
“1000 burpees daily isn’t good enough, must do more.”
OK – maybe that last one was a joke but the others are definitely real.
Negative self-talk is exactly what it says it is…. Negative.
There is nothing good about it and does nothing to help us.
Instead, it makes us feel like shit (pardon the French), stops us from believing we CAN achieve our goals, keeping us paralyzed on the sidelines; unhappy, unhealthy, and feeling bad for ourselves.
This is why there’s a whole section of Entrepreneur Fitness Academy dedicated to negative self-talk and how to effectively manage it.
Because it can and will mess with us if we let it and don’t effectively manage it.
Before any of us stand a chance to achieve whatever goal we’re out to achieve, it must first start with positive self-talk.
What Would Have Been?
Do you think Roger Banister would have broke the 4 minute mile if his internal self-talk was, “Who the heck are you to think you can do the impossible, to do what’s never been done before.”
Do think Buster Douglas would have defeated Mike Tyson in one of the biggest boxing upsets in history if his internal self-talk was, “I am no match for Mike Tyson, this guy is a beast.”
Do you think the Boston Red Sox would have defeated the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees began the series up 3-0 if their internal self-talk was, “It’s over, we’re finished”.
Do you think the New England Patriots would have won Super Bowl LI, the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history if their internal self-talk was, “We can’t win, we’re down a lot with little time”.
None of these victories would have been possible or happened with negative self-talk.
And it’s not about not having negative thoughts come to mind.
Of course that’s going to happen.
It’s about recognizing when these negative thoughts do pop up and the negative self-talk begins. Stopping it, shutting it down, and not allowing it.
How Do We Shut Down Negative Self-Talk?
1) Recognize it’s happening
2) Replacing the negative self-talk with positive self-talk
Here’s what that would look like for my negative self-talk:
Negative: “That was a lame workout I just completed.”
Positive: “The wasn’t my best workout but I got it done – heck yeah!”
Negative: “Why are my runs so weak lately?”
Positive: “My runs WILL continue to get stronger and stronger as I go.”
Negative: “Why do I always forget to meditate?”
Positive: “I’m continuing to get better and better at remembering to mediate.”
What Does Your Negative Self-Talk Look Like?
Maybe you don’t have any and if you don’t, that’s awesome!
If you do, make a conscious effort going forward to pay attention to what you’re telling yourself.
If it’s negative stuff… recognize it, stop it, and replace it immediately with positive self-talk.
You won’t become a pro at it overnight.
But if you keep at it, remain mindful of your internal self-talk, and replace the negative with positive every chance you get, you’ll notice a substantial difference in your life.
You’ll feel happier, healthier, more confident, and energetic too.
Give it a shot and see for yourself.
You deserve to feel awesome you know, because you are awesome.
Thanks for being here.
Mike
