We all have it. That nagging little voice inside of us that tells us to stay still and not go work out. It tells us to keep eating that junk food because it will make us feel so good. It tells us to not do something productive that may require effort because it doesn’t want to. It may even tell us that we are not good enough to do a certain task. For most, we have been dealing with this negative voice in our head for the majority of our life.
It’s about time we defeat this negative voice!
In order to have more control over your life and how you do and perceive things, it is primordial to silence that voice once and for all. Here are 6 steps to help you conquer and defeat that negative voice in your head:
1. Acknowledge its presence
For as long as we can remember, that inner voice has always been there. It makes us think that it acts as a guiding voice of reason, but what it really does is cut our legs from underneath us. Since it has always been there, we tend to go about life without acknowledging that it is actually there and what it does to us. So the first step, just like with any problem, is to acknowledge it. Be truthful and honest with yourself, as this is not something that can be easy for some people to admit, but it is necessary. Once you make yourself aware that it is there and what it does to you, then you are in a better position to deal with it correctly.
2. Drown it with positive thoughts
Whenever you catch that voice telling you something negative, counter it with something positive. For example, say you are supposed to go work out, but that voice says “no, we’re comfortable here, let’s not move”, counter it right away with a “yes, I can do it, and I am doing it!” The more you do that, the more that negative voice will be eclipsed quickly, and eventually all that will remain is the positive rebuttal. So in that regard, you are submerging the negativity with positivity.
3. Alter your vocabulary
That little negative voice didn’t come out of nowhere. No no, this voice was trained to verbalize things a certain way. Remember, these are your words, your vocabulary that it is using to voice what it wants. What you need to do is change and remove certain words from your speech and thoughts. Can’t, won’t, should, could, would, might…replace them with clear positive actions such as I am, I will, I can, I have, I want, I need. As you transform your vocabulary in your daily life to more positive affirmations, the less intense that negative voice will be, before it diminishes completely.
4. Visualize your goals
Typically that negative voice is a direct result of having the wrong visualization in mind. For example, you focus on how comfortable you are and that’s why you are less likely to move and go work out. Now, instead of feeding that negative voice with the imagery that it needs in order to get you to do what it wants, change the imagery to what you WANT to accomplish instead. Say you have that dessert in front of you and that voice tells you how much you should get it and how it will be good…think about that body you want to have and that feeling of being in complete control of yourself. If you have this huge task to do, instead of thinking about how boring it might be and listen to that voice that says not to do it, think about the feeling of completing that task and how it will help you be more successful. Visualization is key and having the right kind of visualization makes all the difference.
5. Speak out loud
The voice that you hear the loudest wins, it’s that simple. And a voice that you hear loud and clear is more likely to overcome an inner voice. This is why we put so much more emphasis on other’s words rather than our own thoughts. So use this to your advantage to silence that negative voice by expressing out loud what you truly want and what’s best for you. So following up on the earlier point of countering it with positive thoughts, do that but speak it out loud. You won’t believe how effective this is. Hearing yourself say out loud “I am going to the gym” or “I am finishing my task” is immensely powerful. That inner negative voice simply won’t be able to compete with that.
6. Turn it into your ally
We will always have inner dialogue. That’s not ever going to disappear. However, why not make it work to your advantage instead? By following the steps above, you will silence the negative voice and begin to think and speak to yourself in a more positive manner. Use this to your own benefit now. Make it a useful tool that you can then use to accomplish amazing things in your life. Always remember, you are not your thoughts. Your thoughts are a tool that you can use to help you or to your own detriment. This is YOUR life, why not make this tool benefit you as much as possible? You can’t control other people’s thoughts but you can certainly control yours. By turning that voice into a useful one, you now have the most powerful ally you can possibly have in your life 😉
