What does negative self-talk have to do with finances? Well, negative self-talk impacts your mental health.
Over time, this negative self-talk will affect your stress level, anxiety, sleep, and other areas of your life.
Your negative self-talk may be preventing you from finding a better-paying job. Or even from getting out of debt.
It’s stopping you from achieving the lifestyle you want for yourself.
It’s one thing to challenge your status quo, but it’s another to verbally abuse yourself for not achieving impossible standards.
Have you ever had a computer run sluggish?
Usually, too much stuff in the memory bogs down performance. To figure out what’s slowing it down, you run a diagnostic report.
This report suggests which files to delete to improve performance.
Hmm… wouldn’t it be great if we could do the same thing to our minds?
Delete all the negative self-talk slowing our performance or prohibiting us from accomplishing what we really want to do in life.
It’s almost as if we need to reset our minds to factory settings – you know, before we had any self-doubt caused by our own thoughts… or by others.
In lieu of a reset button or delete button for our minds, how do we delete our negative self-talk?
Here are some ideas to try to conquer negative self-talk:
Take 30 seconds every day and give yourself a pity party. Go ahead and wallow in your self-doubt. Identify all your downfalls. Then, immediately take one minute to identify all your strengths and accomplishments. When you’re done, you’ll be ready to move forward.
During the day, if you start having a negative thought, write it down on a scrap piece of paper. Fold the paper and put it in a jar for the next day’s pity party. In this way, you’re moving the negative self-talk from the present so you can focus on what you really need to do.
Explore different meditation styles to improve your concentration and remove negative self-talk.
Find a motivational app, such as Mindset, to shift your thoughts from negative to positive.
Take a break in your day and listen to uplifting music.
Go outside and take a brisk walk.
Pause your social media or completely delete it.
The key is doing something different to prevent negative self-talk from obstructing your day. Give yourself permission to put yourself first.
If your negative self-talk becomes debilitating, find help from a mental health professional.
Life is a journey, and at times, it may be more challenging than you want. During those times, take care of your mental health.
(Update to original post from August 21, 2014)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Niv Persaud, CFP®, CDFA®, RICP®, is a Managing Director at Transition Planning & Guidance, LLC. Life is more than money. It’s about living the lifestyle you want and can afford. For that reason, Niv consults with clients on money, life, and work. Her approach capitalizes on techniques she learned throughout her career, including as a management consultant, executive recruiter, and financial advisor. Her services include developing comprehensive financial plans, divorce financial reviews, and retirement plans. Niv actively gives back to her community through her volunteer efforts. She believes in living life to the fullest by cherishing friendships, enjoying the beauty of nature and laughing often — even at herself. Her favorite quote is by Erma Bombeck, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say ‘I used everything you gave me.’”