Leading by example

Have you ever stopped to think about how you treat yourself or how you talk to yourself.  I'm not sure about you, but at times in my life I know I have often been my biggest critic.  It may have come from a place of perfection or from a space of insecurity.  Nonetheless, it was a dangerous place to be.  

I have since learned through experience that we teach people how to treat us.  As I work with women and girls I am often dumbfounded by the way they speak to and about themselves.  Whether it is a sly comment about their faults or snide whisper about their weight.  I have noticed the negative comments flow so freely that they have become second nature and begin to actually form who they are and the way they behave.  

What in the world is happening?  I want you to pause for a minute and ask yourself, if you would allow a total stranger to say some of the things you say to or about yourself?  Would you really sit there day, after day, after day, and allow them to speak such negativity, gloom and doom?  How long would you allow it to go on?  Chances are, at some point you would be fed up, and ready to cut them off.  Am I right?  

Well, why then, do we allow our negative self-talk to saturate our hearts and minds.  I'm not talking about constructive criticism, but I am speaking of the negative banter that plays over and over and over in our minds.  Why do we entertain the voices or allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the negativity and harsh thoughts?    ​

Can you imagine what would happen if we stood up to ourselves and silenced the voices within? What would happen if instead of being so critical of ourselves, we would instead begin to affirm and uplift ourselves in a new way? I think it would be a game changer and would be reflected in the things we do and the goals we achieve.  I think with a slight change in our own behavior we could begin to see a positive change from those around us. I have no doubt that if we could learn to do this for ourselves, others would follow suite.