If you could take all the thoughts you have in one day and have them replayed for you, what would you hear? Do you talk down to yourself? Do you talk down to others? Do you limit yourself by what you say? What you say to yourself matters.
The book ‘The Four Agreements’ by Don Miguel Ruiz has four agreements that people need to make with themselves. The first one is ‘Be Impeccable With Your Word.’ It’s not just being honest and doing what you say you are going to do, but be impeccable with your word to yourself.
When you have a bad day or an argument, are you telling yourself negative things? “It’s my fault.” “I’m not that smart.” The list is endless and I’m sure we all have said some things to ourselves that if we heard them said out loud, we would be appalled and embarrassed. What you say to yourself matters.
So how do we start to change what we think and say? How do we change our self-talk? Here are some tips that I hope can be helpful as we all start to be more impeccable with our word.
You are enough. You need to believe, to your core, that you are enough. No one needs to complete you. You have the strength to get through this life, one step at a time. Everyday wake up with a fire in your belly to make this life the very best it can be.
Surround yourself with good people. Is there someone in your life that drains the energy right out of you? You need to surround yourself with people that uplift you and make you feel good about life. If you feel good about life, you will attract the right people. If you are negative and depressed, that’s exactly who will be drawn into your life. If you need to say goodbye to someone, do it.
Be honest about what you want. You have to be honest about what you want for your life. If something isn’t working, you aren’t speaking up for yourself, or if you’re allowing someone to bring you down, you need to be honest with yourself. You need to have those hard conversations and be willing to speak up for yourself.
If only I was stronger, smarter, more attractive. This is a big one for most people. We tell ourselves limiting thoughts and beliefs. “I will never get that job, because I’m not smart enough.” “I wish I was as beautiful as so-and-so.” “I’m just not strong enough to be on my own.” Any of this sounds familiar? It takes a lot of work to be able to look in the mirror and accept yourself right where you are in this exact moment. Love yourself today, not when you lose 10 pounds, but as you are right now.
You have this one life, start living it today. Start to be impeccable with your word to yourself and see how things shift in your life. Be fully aware what you are saying to yourself in different situations. See if you can catch the harmful words – notice it – and start to think differently.
With Gratitude,
