Positive vs. Negative Self-Talk
Whatever you tell yourself will significantly influence what you do and what you don't do.
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right". - Henry Ford
You can use self-talk to your advantage throughout your dissertation journey.
Reframing the conversation you have in your head in a way that benefits you is your responsibility.
Your words create your reality.
Negative self-talk may be detrimental not only because you've been repeating it for SO long that it's becoming a pattern but also because your brain listens to you and looks for evidence that proves what you are telling it, such as "I always mess up."
Sometimes, negative self-talk is as if it has been programmed into us, and it seems like it can't be stopped. We frequently don't even realize that we are doing it, and even when we do, we are unable to stop.
This means that this never-ending cycle of negative self-talk can become extremely harmful because listening to negative self-talk all the time is undoubtedly exhausting and detrimental to your emotional health.
So, be conscious of your own self-narrative. We are all challenged by a negative voice in our heads.
Be aware of it.
Listen to it and disempower it.
Say the opposite.
Believe the opposite!
You have tremendous power and influence to guide yourself to the end of your dissertation journey successfully.
At this point, I would love to share with you the story of Dr. James P. Gills.
He is the only person on the planet to complete six double iron man triathlons, the last one he did when he was 59!
When he was asked how he did it, he replied:
I've learned to talk to myself instead of listening to myself. If I listen to myself, I hear all the negative thoughts, complaints, fears, doubts, and reasons I wouldn't finish the race. But if I talk to myself, I can feed myself with words and encouragement I need to finish the race. - Dr. James P. Gills
So, please talk to yourself... Think of your dissertation as an exciting, brand-new experience that you are looking forward to.
Convince yourself that you love your dissertation and you want to finish it as soon as possible.
Remember that everything you do has an impact on where you are going!
The goal here is to halt the unhelpful inner chatter.
Believe you can do it.
Take action...
And finally, finish your dissertation!
And because I really want to help as many students out there as possible to identify, deal with, alter and own the power of their thoughts, I have created an exercise! It's called "I can choose my own thoughts," and you can download it by clicking here.
If you want to learn more about my Dissertation Coaching Programs, I encourage you to schedule a Discovery Call with me by clicking here or visiting my Dissertation Coaching page.