Your attitude determines your direction. It is amazing at what you attract after you start believing in what you deserve. So why is it that some of us speak so negatively about ourselves or believe that we are not deserving of our full potential?

Dr John De Martini states that ‘’All stress begins with a negative thought. One thought that went unchecked, and then more thoughts came and more, until stress manifested. The effect is stress, but the cause was negative thinking, and it all began with one little negative thought. No matter what you might manifest, you can change it… with one small positive thought and then another.’’

Positive self-talk is a good technique to use to help reduce any negative thoughts, even if you do it subconsciously. Self-talk is a type of intentional thinking and inner statement often referred to as ‘inner dialogue’. People talk to themselves in their head all the time, but this is intentional, positive, and performance-based talk. I will give you a personal example of a time where I used it to help me in a football game. Picture this, I am setting up for a goal, my team is 3 points behind, and I know there are only minutes left. Instantly the thought running through my head is, ‘I must kick this goal or else the other team wins, and I’ll be the reason my team loses!’  I know that it is critical to let go of that negative thought and change it to a positive format to be able to attract it. I remember taking two big deep breaths, closed my eyes and drained everyone else out. I changed my thought and words to ‘When I kick this goal, our team will win, and I’ll celebrate like a looney!’ Now I am no Tony Lockett, but I did slot it through, and I admit it took an hour to get over my celebration. But the power of changing my thought process and believing that I was good enough to make that shot was game changing, and I do not mean just for the football game. Anything that we face in life we can put this strategy too.

Here are some examples that I hear frequently and some positive suggestions:

‘I can’t do that!’ – change to – ‘How can this be done?’

‘I don’t deserve it!’ – change to – ‘This is how I can earn this opportunity’

‘I’m not good enough’ – change to – ‘These are my unique attributes and here’s how I utilize them’

‘There’s no point in trying’ – change to – ‘Here’s what I can do differently’

‘I messed up and don’t think I can start over – change to – ‘I’ve accepted a mistake or misstep and here is my recovery plan’

Self-doubt is a weed that will take over your life if you do not kill it at the root. If you never think that things will get better, then guess what… They won’t. When you focus on the negative things, you really are setting yourself up for never being content or happy.

Change your language to ‘What is it does work out’. Believe in possibilities. Retraining your mind will lift you higher out of the overthinking, stress and worry of negative habitual thoughts. Change starts with your mindset. Shift it and switch it.

You may not be able to completely stop negative thoughts, but knowing you don’t have to give them power is so much more important

– Coach Danni