Jeannie Welk was The Janitor in the Attic who showed up at Joe's Brown County Hospital presentation to help illustrate the technique of erasing the graffiti of negative self-talk by using the power of metaphorical visualization
Psychologists tell us that the human mind is, for evolutionary reasons, hardwired for negative self-talk. In fact, for most of us it is the default mode that the conscious mind automatically gravitates toward if you are not consciously structuring your thoughts in a positive direction.
If you're like me and most other people, you will on occasion hear that toxic inner voice talking to you with the sort of abusive tone and language that you would never tolerate from another person.
If you really pay attention to that toxic inner voice, you'll notice something striking. It will always be in the second person. You will never hear that voice say "I'm an idiot, I'm fat, I'm unlovable." It will always be "You're an idiot, you're fat, you're unlovable."
Why is that? It's because it's not you talking! What you are hearing is the malignant echo of something someone else said to you a long time ago. It hurt, it stuck, and now it is pasted up there in your mind - toxic mental graffiti. And the longer it stays up there, the more pervasive it seems to become.
That's why you need The Janitor in Your Attic! Every time you hear that nagging voice of negative self-talk, visualize it for what it is - mental graffiti. Then visualize a little janitor up there in the attic of your mind painting it out and replacing it with something that is positive and affirming - and no doubt more likely to be true.
Several years ago I spoke with one of the nation's leading authorities on the science of brain plasticity. I told him about this little game I teach people for using The Janitor in Your Attic to erase the graffiti of negative self-talk, and asked if it was possible that someone making a consistent effort at this could actually rewire their brain to actually lock out that toxic mental graffiti artists.
He said that it was not only possible, it was inevitable. The human mind, he told me, treats vivid imagination and reality as equal phenomena - and if you vividly imagine a janitor erasing the graffiti of negative self-talk, your conscious mind will accept that as accomplished fact.
In the years since that conversation, I have been much more diligent about employing The Janitor in My Attic to erase negative self-talk, and I am convinced that the doctor was right. I've heard similar stories from others who have made the commitment.
I'm sure I'd hear the same story from you. In fact, I hope I do!
