There's an old Cherokee legend of a grandfather teaching his grandson about life.  The grandfather tells the child that in all of us there are two wolves.  One wolf is filled with hatred, sadness, and anger.  The other is filled with love, joy, and happiness.  The wolves are in constant battle with each other.  The grandson thinks about this for a minute and then asks his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"  The grandfather replies, "The one you feed."

Perhaps the single most important action we can take toward self-mastery is changing negative self-talk into positive, empowering messages.  Self talk is the constant conversation we are having with ourselves.  Neuroscientists and psychologists have established that our self-talk is between 150 to 300 words per minute, which is about 50,000 thoughts per day.  While this background chatter comprises positive, negative, and mundane thoughts, Dr. Shad Helmstetter's research estimates that as much as 77% of our self-talk is negative.  In addition, it takes five positive thoughts to neutralize each negative one (Gottman), which means that we must constantly feed our minds with empowering and positive thoughts and strategies in order to be happier and more efficient men and women.

CALL TO ACTION: MENTAL CPR

1.  This week, begin to pay attention to your internal chatter.  Most of our self-talk happens at the subconscious level and it is important that you begin to stop every so often and monitor the content of you communication with yourself.

2.  When a negative thought comes into our awareness:

a)  CHALLENGE IT - Ask yourself "is this true?"  Recognize that you are giving power to a negative or limiting belief and that you do not have to accept it. 

b)  PRACTICE SELF-ACCEPTANCE - Accept yourself exactly as you are at this very moment.  Say to yourself:  "I do not have to buy into this limiting belief about myself.  I love and accept myself regardless of what thoughts I may have about me."

c)  REPLACE IT - Replace the negative thought with a positive and empowering message. There's a part of you that is thirsting for your self-acceptance, kindness, and love.  Place both hands over your heart and whisper silently that you love yourself, that you matter, that you are precious, worthy, beautiful and strong.

The more you practice positive self-talk, the more you begin to create new neural pathways in your brain that foster positivity and well-being.  As Anthony Robbins says "the quality of you life is dependent on the quality of your communication with yourself and others."

© Frankie Waldo Perez, MindGym, LLC