Post by ridder on Apr 26, 2007 18:36:46 GMT -5
Hey everyone. Certainly y'all do negative self-talk, I know I do. Things like "I'm too shy," "I look horrible," etc etc. I found an interesting solution today that I thought I would share, I'm going to add it to what I'm already doing and I think it will help get diminish the constant negative self-talk that inhibits social activity. Anyway, here it is:
PUNISHING NEGATIVE SELF-TALK
To eliminate worrying over your inadequacies, arrange to punish yourself whenever you start to well on your incompetence. Here’s what to do.
(1) Make a list of household or professional tasks you need to do, but never get around to doing. Title it: “Boring tasks to Do to Stop Negative Self-Talk.” Estimate the time for each job. Post the list where you can refer to it easily.
(2) When you next start having obsessional negative thoughts about yourself, go to your list, choose a chore, and do it. Never make yourself comfortable or reward yourself with food, a good book, or television when you are thinking negatively; instead, punish yourself for negative self-thoughts by forcing yourself to do one of your boring chores.
Furthermore, to counter the negative thought, for the final minute or two as you are completing the dull task you should think about several positive, self-enhancing statements, ones that counteract the negative self-statements that led to the punishing chore. Rehearse these positive thoughts for a few minutes before you stop working on the boring chore.
Hopefully, your negative self-talk will decrease as you punish yourself by doing these jobs. Not only will you learn to keep your negative thoughts in check, you will also probably get a lot of necessary chores done with this method!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know negative self-talk is only one problem, but breaking up shyness into little problems helps to deal with each one. I thought this would be a thread to share how y'all deal with negative self-talk, or maybe other solutions you have came across.
PUNISHING NEGATIVE SELF-TALK
To eliminate worrying over your inadequacies, arrange to punish yourself whenever you start to well on your incompetence. Here’s what to do.
(1) Make a list of household or professional tasks you need to do, but never get around to doing. Title it: “Boring tasks to Do to Stop Negative Self-Talk.” Estimate the time for each job. Post the list where you can refer to it easily.
(2) When you next start having obsessional negative thoughts about yourself, go to your list, choose a chore, and do it. Never make yourself comfortable or reward yourself with food, a good book, or television when you are thinking negatively; instead, punish yourself for negative self-thoughts by forcing yourself to do one of your boring chores.
Furthermore, to counter the negative thought, for the final minute or two as you are completing the dull task you should think about several positive, self-enhancing statements, ones that counteract the negative self-statements that led to the punishing chore. Rehearse these positive thoughts for a few minutes before you stop working on the boring chore.
Hopefully, your negative self-talk will decrease as you punish yourself by doing these jobs. Not only will you learn to keep your negative thoughts in check, you will also probably get a lot of necessary chores done with this method!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know negative self-talk is only one problem, but breaking up shyness into little problems helps to deal with each one. I thought this would be a thread to share how y'all deal with negative self-talk, or maybe other solutions you have came across.
No self-inflicting physical wounds, definitely not a positive solution!