One of the simplest and most effective techniques to develop self-esteem is to silence your inner critic. How can you silence your inner critic? Using positive affirmations or statements. You can think of positive affirmations as the voice of the good coach giving you confidence in your abilities and strength under pressure. Good affirmations will silence your negative inner voice and encourage you to be all that you can be.
Let’s look at the following topics to learn more about affirmations:
- Silence Your Inner Critic
- Affirmation Format
- Write Down Desired Behavior
- Read Your Affirmations Out Loud Every Day
- Don’t Worry About Whether or Not You Think It Is True
Silence Your Inner Critic
A good place to start raising your self-esteem is by learning how to silence your inner critic or negative inner voice. This voice does nothing but quietly and repeatedly tear you down while lowering your self-esteem level. This inner voice whispers or shouts destructive thoughts in your mind like, “You are lazy,” or,“You aren’t good enough”.
You do not have to accept or listen to this negative voice. There are ways to minimize the critical voice and to replace it with more positive, encouraging thoughts. By doing this regularly, you can change the way in which you view yourself. One way to do so is simply to say, “Stop!” whenever the critic pops up in your mind. You can do this by creating a stop word or stop phrase. As the critic begins to say something negative in your mind, reply with “STOP!” or “That’s not true!” Come up with your own word or phrase that works for you to stop the inner critic’s message in its tracks. Then you can refocus your thoughts to something more encouraging.
Affirmation Format
Affirmations are positive statements said with confidence about yourself. They are an important part of building your self-esteem. Affirmations can be a powerful tool to help you change your mood and state of mind. These positive, encouraging statements build you up and replace your negative inner critic. The format you should use for your affirmation statements involves four parts. Affirmation statements should be short, positive, simple, and in the present tense. Some examples of great affirmation statements are I am a good person; I believe in myself; I have control of my life.
Write Down Desired Behavior
To motivate yourself to take action and raise your self-esteem, it is helpful to have healthy motivation habits. One way you can motivate yourself is to write down your desired behavior. First, make a list of the things you want to improve about yourself. They may be things that you notice about yourself or things that other people have told you to improve. For example, you may write, “Become a better listener” or, “ Be a happier person”.
After you write these things down, write an affirmation next to each one that will encourage you to meet the desired behavior. Remember to keep your affirmations short, positive, simple and in the present tense. For example, you may write: ‘Be a happier person’ for your desired behavior. Your affirmation statement should read something like: “I am a happy person,” or, “I am happy with myself”.
Read Your Affirmations Out Loud Every Day
When your list of affirmations is complete with 5-10 positive statements, save it and put it somewhere where you will see it every day. You may choose to display the list on your bathroom mirror, at your workspace or on your fridge. Whatever the case, make sure you place it somewhere where you will see it regularly. A crucial part of making affirmations work in your life is to read them out loud each and every day. The more you listen to them, the more true they will become and the easier it will be to change your mindset about yourself.
It may seem silly at first to read what you wrote about yourself every day. However, that feeling will disappear within a few days. The action of reading your self-affirmations will make changes in the way you think about yourself. Remember, it was your old inner critic that told you that you were not a worthy human. These ideas were not based on reality. They were the result of negative self-talk that was repeated over and over. One way to get rid of these negative thoughts is to replace them with positive inner thoughts about yourself. So, repeat, repeat and repeat your affirmation statements until they effect the change you desire in your life!
Don’t Worry About Whether or Not You Think It Is True
When you read the affirmations each and everyday, you may doubt yourself and wonder if what you are saying is true. Be aware that this is your negative inner voice creeping in. Use your key phrase to tell this inner critic to stop! Know that the more you repeat the affirmation statements, the more true they will become. Only repetition can retrain your brain from the old inner critic to a new, positive way to view yourself. Keep repeating and believing the positive statements until you have changed the way you view yourself.
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