Defeating negative self talk

It is so very easy to talk yourself out of doing something you don't really want to do.

I'll go to the gym tomorrow
I'll start the diet tomorrow / when we've gotten rid of all the goodies in the cupboard
I'll make those sales calls tomorrow, they're probably not at their desks right now
I'll .... (fill in the blank)

Talking yourself out of doing what you know you should be doing is just another phrase for procrastination. No, you may not feel like eating well or going to the gym - but you know you should do both. Similarly you stop doing those things you know will bring you financial rewards because?????

One of the reasons we sabotage ourselves with this kind of self talk is that we have no idea what it would be like to be successful. I mean, if everything went right kind of successful - no matter what we did. We would wonder when the brick was going to land on our heads. So we hide from the bricks and sure enough we don't get the success we think we wanted, but ....

If you are faced with doing something or not and the only reason you're not going to do it, is because you're talking yourself out of it .... then - ask yourself why. Why are you sabotaging your success with "I'll do it tomorrow" self talk. Do it now. Do it anyway. Do it because it will annoy the neighbours and that little critic whispering in your ear. And if you can't do it for yourself, then if nothing else, do it for me - then tell me about it....brag a little - hey elle you were right, i didn't want to ...... but I did and you know what I feel great / terrible / your advice sucks .... whatever - but at least you did it

Cheers

Elle

Comments

[Lazyone]

I have talked myself out of going to the gym so many times it's not funny. Then beaten myself up about not going, which of course makes me feel worse about everything - my weight, my lack of fitness, my self image. The stupid thing is, I know I'm doing it, yet can't seem to stop. And to make matters worse, I end up eating more as a result of not going. I'd love to stop this kind of self-defeating behaviour, I really would - just don't think i'm strong enough to talk myself into it.

[N.H.]

This is my big dilemma - Why can't I get up and do what I know I should be doing? What I know will make me feel better about myself? Sure there are lots of exuses why I can't make it today, tomorrow or whatever. I was watching Oprah today and she had a few ladies on there that had tough situations to get over in their lives and they just picked themselves up and remade themselves. It made me think about myself alot and the fact that we are what we make of ourselves. So what do I want to be? I don't want to be the person I am now - the one that gets a day off of work and vegetates on the couch all day feeling bad about the way I look and guilty for not doing any thing about it. I want to be a strong and confident woman. I want to be proud to show myself in a nice outfit. Because of that I am going to end this little note and get my flabby hiney to kickboxing which starts in 30minutes!!!

[Elle]

Hi N.H.
Hope you made it in time....I did a boxing class for the first time last night. Didn't have time to think about it, had to go home, get changed and get to class in about 5 minutes....well 15 actually. Sometimes having no time to think about it, helps. Now if I had put my sports gear into the car in the morning - I would have had all day to talk myself out of going. Or rather not going....
And tonight it's back to tall cylindrical structures that I need to wrap myself around.
Cheers
Elle