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| Is the most powerful voice the one in your head? (Yes!) Does it speak to you all day, every day? (Yes!) And not so nicely most of the time? (How did you know?) Harsh tones of judgment and self-doubt? (Almost always!) Causing you to stay stuck? (Often!) Are you going to ALLOW this? Allow the easy criticism to go unquestioned, unchallenged for the rest of your life? I hope your answer to that is a resounding NO! This toxic relationship must end! Not another day, hour, or minute. NO MORE! Here’s how: 1. Recognize, review and challenge the voice. Maybe it’s your voice or maybe it’s the voice of a relative, friend or co-worker. No matter whose voice it is, the important question is WHAT is it saying to you? Ask yourself, would I EVER say these things out loud to ANYONE? If the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT, then this voice needs to be dealt with, NOW! P.S. Does what it’s saying even make sense? Does it reflect reality? Challenge the validity of this nasty, judgmental voice. It’s telling you lies when all you seek are truths. 2. Make “nice” with the voice. Pushing the voice away will only make it stronger and more harmful to you. NEWSFLASH: The voice is not going away! It’s time to make friends with the voice. More importantly, it’s time to teach it HOW you want to be spoken to. I promise, the voice can learn! Make an alliance and teach it the turnaround phrases you’d rather hear instead. Here are some typical toxic phrases, and their easy, nicer, more acceptable turnarounds: Unfriendly Voice: You can’t do this. Friendly Voice: I’ve done great things before, I can do this too! Unfriendly Voice: You don’t know what you’re doing. Friendly Voice: I can, and I will, figure this out! Unfriendly Voice: You have never been successful. Friendly Voice: I’ve got what it takes, and everything I need, to do this! *Listen to yourself, capture your harmful thoughts/phrases, then create your positive turnarounds.* 3. Repeat the turnarounds as affirmations. Repeat them often! Post them around your house, in your car, at your work. Where you will see them everywhere and all the time! Repeat, repeat, REPEAT! Eventually, they will change the narrative in your head. They will change your way of thinking about yourself. They will change your LIFE!…one thought at a time. Do you want that? Flipping the script doesn’t happen overnight. It requires patience, persistence, and lots of grace. It requires unselfish self-love, humble confidence and kindness to yourself. Be gentle and bold, and DO THIS! The freedom this brings is worth it. And YOU are definitely worth it! |