THE POWER OF: POSITIVE SELF-TALK

Warm Up: Create/use a journal to answer the following: Write a list of 30 things that make you feel good.

Outcome: Students will develop a positive self-concept and the skills necessary to interact effectively with others.

What is self-concept?

born with self-esteem, so We aren’t born with self-esteem, so that means we can change it ! (if it’s low) Take the "Self-Esteem" Survey

Self-Esteem is affected by… Other People Ourselves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5yCOSHeYn4

Building a Strong Self-Esteem To build strong bodies, we must exercise our muscles. To build strong self-concepts, we must exercise our self-talk. In order to build strong bodies, body builders must constantly exercise their muscles. The same is true for building a strong self-concept and a high level of self-esteem. We must constantly exercise our self-talk to build our self-concept and/or self-esteem.

Self-Talk Affects Self-Esteem Self-talk is our inner voice. What kinds of things do you say? 77% of everything we think is negative. 35 - 48 thoughts per minute per person 2400 thoughts per hour 57, 600 thoughts per day 44, 352 negative thoughts a day Self-talk affects self-esteem. Each day thousands of communicative messages are sent. The majority of these are never verbalized, but heard and handled internally. The inner voice is self-talk. Our brains are much like a computer. Each day everything and everyone around us has been programming us. Unfortunately self-talk has done the majority of the programming. Think about your self-talk. What kinds of things do you say to yourself? Researchers have found that 77% of everything we think is negative and counterproductive. Our toughest critic is ourselves. For example, if we trip on a stair, what do we say to ourselves? “I’m so clumsy”. If we are late handing in a paper, “I’m always late.” If we get a bad grade on a test, “I’m so dumb.”

Brain Believes What We Tell It Most of what we believe is what we have told ourselves. We become what we tell ourselves. Our success or failure depends on what we say to ourselves. The brain simply believes what we tell it most. Repetition is a convincing argument; eventually we believe what others had told us, but most of what we believe is what we have told ourselves. We tend to remind ourselves of our mistakes. What we tell our brain about ourselves, the brain will create. We will become what we tell ourselves we are. Our success or failure in anything, large or small, will depend on our programming-what we accept from others, and what we say when we talk to ourselves.

positive self-talk :) The #1 best way to improve self-esteem and stay strong against adversity is: positive self-talk :)

1. In Sports Psychology an athlete is taught to stay positive, WHEN IT COMES TO THOUGHTS, YOU HAVE A LOT OF MIND CONTROL!! YOUR BODY LISTENS AND RESPONDS TO YOUR THOUGHTS!!!!   Your mental self-talk can be: P O S I T I V E or N E G A T I V E 2 examples: 1. In Sports Psychology an athlete is taught to stay positive, to stay calm, be focused, be confident, to “see yourself as a winner,” and to “picture the ball going in the hole.” Many athletes find success with this positive thinking and imagery.   2. In relaxation therapy you imagine a place or event that is peaceful, restful, beautiful and happy. The body actually responds with lower blood pressure, lower pulse rate to calm down and relax.

negative thinking damages them. Just as making positive statements to yourself helps you to build confidence, improve performance, and improve your mental skills, negative thinking damages them.

Whatever you tell yourself, your sub-conscious brain will believe as truth and it will work to make that true for you !!! For instance, if you say you aren’t a morning person your sub-conscious brain will reinforce that idea! You may feel tired, hit the “snooze bar” and spill things, etc.

Example: If you were taught as a child that all dogs will bite you, your mind will automatically raise that fear everytime you see a dog. (even though your friend tells you that their dog is friendly, your mind believes and sends the fear message! You have to re-train your brain!!!)

Cognitive Reframing

DO REFRAMING OUR THOUGHTS WORKSHEET Silver lining

Ways to help change your self-talk

Log it If others put us down, positive self-talk might say, “No matter what you say or do, I’m still a worthwhile person.” If self-talk starts negative comments, we need to say loudly in our mind, “STOP! Erase that!” (Have the students practice saying that phrase) If something is going to be erased, it has to be replaces with a positive statement. “I’m so lazy” “STOP! Erase! Replace it with “I’m getting better and faster.” Remember negative words like can’t, won’t, don’t, etc. should not be used. The statement must be positive. Select a few habits that need to be changed. Write a positive statement for each one and repeat it three times a day for 30 days. Remember, self-talk has been programming you for some time and it will take time to change it.

Picture a stop sign Recognizing negative self-talk is a step in the right direction

Find Positive Affirmations that work for you I’m still a worthwhile person. “Stop! Erase that!” Replace with a positive statement. Change bad habits with positive comments. If others put us down, positive self-talk might say, “No matter what you say or do, I’m still a worthwhile person.” If self-talk starts negative comments, we need to say loudly in our mind, “STOP! Erase that!” (Have the students practice saying that phrase) If something is going to be erased, it has to be replaces with a positive statement. “I’m so lazy” “STOP! Erase! Replace it with “I’m getting better and faster.” Remember negative words like can’t, won’t, don’t, etc. should not be used. The statement must be positive. Select a few habits that need to be changed. Write a positive statement for each one and repeat it three times a day for 30 days. Remember, self-talk has been programming you for some time and it will take time to change it.

Still not working… Wear a rubber band and snap yourself for each negative thought! 24

What Are You Saying? For homework, write down six negative statements you say to yourself throughout the day. For each negative, write a positive statement. Due at the beginning of next class. Have the students pull out a blank piece of paper. They will write all the negative statements they say in a day. (Possibly what they have already said today!) For each negative, have the students now write a positive statement.