Last week, I wrote about talking nicely to yourself. This can literally change your life in no time flat. Really. It can be a MAJOR game changer, so this is a fairly gentle reminder to try this out. Just try it out. For two weeks. Two weeks. What do you have to lose? I’ll tell you what you have to lose, unnecessary pain, anger, sadness, and stress. Life already has enough of that for most of us, so I’m just talking about the extra stuff we add to it by how we talk to ourselves.And if you’re unsatisfied after two weeks, then feel free to go back to bashing and criticizing yourself all the time. What a lovely thing to do 🙂
Seriously, most of us have let a pretty harsh voice have free reign for most of our lives. Since we’re doing it to ourselves’s we can stop. Just like that in that moment when we notice it. And it comes back. And we stop again. And it loses power after a while. We see that we’re the only person that can give it any power in the first place. Nobody else even knows that anything has happened, because it’s in your head. Much ado about nothing. Really. It’s a lot of nothing. And what amazing, life changing news!
Now for the logical portion of the blog post… Doesn’t it make sense to simply try it out for just two weeks? Two weeks! That’s nothing. For the next two weeks, the harsh voice does not get the floor. At all. It will talk, of course, and that’s fine. The difference is that for just the next two weeks, you won’t listen to it. You won’t even take it seriously. You’ll simply go to a long, deep breath the second you notice it, and it’ll be gone. And you’ll relax your body. You might gently say, “You’ve had your chance and you’re done for two weeks.” And you might say to yourself something like, “Relax Ash, just do your best.” Or, “Chill out, you’re doing fine. What’s the next thing I have to do? I’ll just do that now.” And here’s the key – your tone. It’s a relaxing tone. And you really feel it. This is huge. Feel the relaxation, even while you’re super busy or making a tough decision. This is very, very powerful. All we’re doing is trying out a different way. For just two weeks of our lives. Is that a lot to ask?? Clearly it is not…
The hard part is usually remembering, so let’s stack the deck in our favor. Make a note wherever you need to. Like by your bed to start the day, in your car, on your desk at work, in your phone, etc. There are apps to help, like Remindfulness. Do what you have to do to remember. The note could simply say, “Relax.” And maybe it has a happy face by it. Those are pretty powerful, by the way…
So give it a shot if you want. It’s your peace, after all, so you’re in charge. This is so simple but so huge. The only thing is that most of us have a habit of talking differently to ourselves, so it’ll probably take some practice. Habits get replaced, though, with persistence. Make your notes so you’ll remember, and try it our for two weeks. Two weeks!! And then assess how those two weeks were. Not what happened externally, but how you were internally. That’s what it’s all about, after all. Because we can’t control the external. And if this changes your life, let me know; it’s already changed mine. Now I’m off to a cousin’s wedding in Tallahassee. Happy weekend, everyone. And talk nicely to yourself, dammit! Wait, that wasn’t so nice…