Self-Talk

If you love yourself, then you should say it! Self-talk and affirmations are essential components of self-improvement. They can have a significant impact on your confidence as a person. It has been noted that accepting a compliment is a "lost art ."We tend to diminish our recognized achievements by downplaying or discounting them. For example, if someone says, "You look nice today in your outfit," the response would be, "This old thing," versus accepting the recognition. Suppose it is challenging to receive a genuine compliment from someone. How much more difficult would it be to give yourself affirmations if you don't feel worthy?

Self-talk can be either positive or negative. It's that inner voice in your head that can be loud and overbearing or occur without you even being conscious. A man approached Muhammad (pbuh), the prophet of Islam, seeking advice; Muhammad said, "Say I believe in G-d and after that strive to live upright". He advised him to affirm his faith to give himself strength to live a righteous life.

Positive self-talk reinforces things to make you feel good about yourself! I'm lovable! I'm valuable! I'm important! These affirmations, said to yourself or in the mirror each morning, could improve your self-efficacy, strengthen you, and make you more resilient. 

Negative self-talk, on the other hand, will leave you without confidence and doubting yourself. In some respects, it paralyzes you mentally. I'm dumb! I'm ugly! I'm always messing things up! These ideas, sometimes called "noise" in our minds, get in the way of being and doing your best. They are thieves and robbers, stealing your motivation and your will to do.

Improving your self-talk is work and takes effort, like anything worthwhile we endeavor to do. Let's look at three ways to improve your self-talk.

1. Start with being conscious of what you're saying to yourself. Listen to the messages you're telling yourself when no one else is listening. Assess how you feel when these messages register in your mind. Are you strengthened or weakened by them? 

2. "If you can't say it, you can't have/be it ."Project attributes that you want to change or become into your self-talk. If you struggle with confidence, say, "I can do this," repeatedly to drive out doubt with faith in yourself. 

3. Disclose your challenge to a trusted source. Sometimes, sharing with the right person can help prevent you from being overwhelmed by the "noise" in your head. They support us by checking in and positively reinforcing the attributes and qualities we want to become. 

So when you look in the mirror today, ask yourself, "What am I saying to myself?

The inner speech, your thoughts, can cause you to be rich or poor, loved or unloved, happy or unhappy, attractive or unattractive, powerful or weak. ~Ralph Charell

Imam Makram

#SelfTalk #PositiveAffirmations #Improvement #SelfLove #SelfBelief