Reach your Potential with Positive Self-Talk
After a good, challenging workout, sometimes runners come to me and say: “Thank you! I couldn’t have done without you.” “You gave me the motivation and the push to finish. I would have given up much sooner.”
It’s definitely rewarding and makes me feel very happy, but at the same time, I’m always surprised. I didn’t have any doubts about these runners. I was 100% sure they could complete the workout. However, it seemed they were less convinced than I was. Do I believe in them more than they believe in themselves? How is it possible? That made me reflect on the power of self-talk.
What are we telling ourselves? What is our internal dialogue?
Let’s say you have a big race or a big work project coming up. Do you believe you can do it? Are you confident in your potential? It might be something new and challenging, but how do you react to the challenge?
Our performance in sport and life is greatly affected by our self-talk.
Self-talk is crucial. I think it’s the “first manifestation”, even before interacting with others. The first form of expression is how we interact with ourselves, followed by how we interact with others. How we talk and treat ourselves will manifest in the external world. Do you believe in your potential and in the fact that you can achieve your goals? If you don’t, there is less probability that others will. We are our internal mirror.
People with more positive self-talk are more confident and get greater performance results.
Therefore, how can we change our internal dialogue with ourselves? A small change can make a huge difference. However, this small change is not so easy. Changing our internal thoughts is very challenging, and it doesn’t happen overnight.
The first step is to recognize the issue that you want to solve. Like many things in life, everything connects to awareness. You have to be aware of certain thoughts that impact your life. If you’re not aware, there is no process, and nothing will happen.
Once you’re aware, the change process starts… It’s not like a light switch, on and off, positive and negative, but it’s a balance between the two and part of continuous improvement.
Self-talk is like a dialogue with an external person. It’s a friend who is talking. And what happens when doubts and insecurities come up? How do you handle those? When you are aware of a thought that bothers you and is recurring, pay attention and focus on that thought, not with the intent to believe in it but with the intent of questioning it, simply questioning. “Ok, wait a second, let me listen to what this friend has to say. ” “Can’t I finish the race? Is it true that I can’t qualify for the Boston Marathon?” Or, in different contests, “can I give the presentation? Do I deserve the promotion?” And so on…It’s not true or false; it’s a matter of perspective. The point is to listen and try to find a way to reframe the thought.
Challenge your idea and evaluate it rationally. “Do you have facts that support this thesis?” I think this process helps you clarify and reframe your beliefs and thoughts from negative to positive. Finally, be kind and compassionate with yourself during the process. A race could be bad, and that’s OK; there will be more races coming up, but don’t give up and keep pushing. The more you explore this process, the more confident you will become. Change and practice make you a better version; perfectionism limits your potential.