Self-talk: Why Your Inner Voice Matters

Take a moment to reflect on what you keep on saying to yourself daily. Is it beneficial? Does it make you feel bad, miserable, or guilty all the time?

As a mom, you might have been pretty busy that you might no longer have time to evaluate your inner dialogue — or your self-talk. Or perhaps your mind often goes downward spiral of endless negative self-talk?

Anyway, what is self-talk?

Self-talk is basically what you say to yourself. It's your inner voice or your internal dialogue. It's the unspoken thoughts that have a huge influence on how you feel about yourself.

Perhaps this might sound cliché, but your conversations in your head are so powerful that it impacts your outlook and feelings. That's why positive self-talk matters.

The importance of positive Self-talk

With all the chaos and stress motherhood brings, it's easy for a mom to get so caught up with negative self-talk.

If this is the case, it's time to flip the narratives in our heads into positive ones.

Evidence has shown that our positive self-talk can increase our self-esteem, lower stress levels, lead to better health, and can help enhance our emotions.

Those who practice positive self-talk are more likely to be more healthy, happy, and feel better.

How do you know if it's positive self-talk? And as a rule of thumb, avoid saying something to yourself that you don't want to tell your friends.

Negative self-talk is purely criticizing yourself, making you feel miserable. While positive self-talk is something that makes you look at the brighter side. The process of positive self-talk is changing unproductive thoughts into something helpful and productive instead.

It's important to note that practicing positive self-talk isn't easy to talk especially when you get used to criticizing yourself all the time. You need to consciously change the tone of your mental chatter. So, if you find yourself talking negatively about yourself, take time to pause, and dissect your thoughts.

Let's try this self-talk shift:

Negative self-talk: "No one appreciates me and my effort."

 Positive self-talk: "I am valuable. I am special. I appreciate myself. My family appreciates me."

Negative self-talk: "My efforts are not enough. I suck as a mom.
Positive self-talk: "I am good enough. I'm doing better daily."

Negative self-talk: "I am not qualified or I'm not as good as the other mom."
Positive self-talk: "I am qualified. I am getting better daily."

Negative self-talk: "I look stressed out. I don't deserve to spend something for myself."
Positive self-talk: "I am beautiful then and now. I deserve self-care because this is important for my health and my family."

Love + miracles,