Talking Your Way to a Better Life

“I’m my own worst enemy.”  How many times have you used that expression?  Now, how many times have you said, “I’m my own best friend”?  So many times we become our own worst enemies purely through how we talk to ourselves.  We frequently “speak things into existence” when it comes to our own successes or failures.

The power of positive thinking has been touted commercially for years.  The power of positive self-talk is instrumental in forming our thinking.   Everyone knows the pleasure of encouragement and praise.  Frequently this will inspire us onward to greater things.  But did you know that we need this same encouragement and praise from ourselves as well? 

This may seem silly at first.  But watch closely as a superior athlete prepares to perform.  Watch their lips move as they hype themselves up, telling themselves how capable and even great that they are.  The idea of positive self-talk isn’t silly to them!  They use it like a sling-shot to propel themselves forward to greatness.  The great scientists, explorers, inventors and rulers of the world all had this in common: they told themselves that they could do whatever they set their minds to.

The other side of this is the power of negative self-talk.  This doesn’t get talked about as much.  But it is just as important.  If you tell yourself that you can’t, you probably can’t.  Your own words to yourself become self-fulfilling prophecies.  “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not smart enough”… These are words with which we condemn ourselves to failure.

So, how does this relate to those of us who suffer from pain?  Depression is one of the most common side-effects of chronic pain.  And this depression has been shown to actually increase the intensity of pain.  Three of the main contributors to this type of depression are:

1.      Reduced physical activity

2.      Sleeplessness

3.      Negative thinking

And the truth is that those three things are very closely tied to each other.  Each one gives rise to the other, and then they feed off of each other.

The good news is that they can also be treated together.  Increasing physical activity makes us feel better about ourselves, and helps us to sleep at night.  Sleeping well makes our thoughts more lucid and enables us to do more.  And thinking positive can propel us into activity, and reduces our stress levels so we rest better at night.

So be good to yourself.  Give yourself enough time to get 8 hours of rest.  Go out and exercise; even if you’re limited in the type that you can do, the smallest amount of activity can make us feel better.  (That includes stretching every day with the Piri-Stretcher® by Miracle Stretch®)

And talk to yourself! Tell yourself about the things you're good at. Don't say "I can't", say "I can". And if you fail, praise yourself for having done your best! Never put yourself down, to yourself or to others. You are the only you, and we're lucky to have you.