Talking Yourself Into and Out Of

You feel tired but nothing out of the ordinary.  You worked hard.  You get up out of the chair and your body aches.  You start sneezing.  You have a headache.  You think, “Am I getting sick?  Do I have the flu?”  You talk yourself into being sick.  Or you can talk yourself out of it.  “I worked hard in the yard.  My allergies are active, and a storm is coming so the pressure in the air makes my head hurt.  I’m fine.”

You can talk yourself into doing just about anything.  You can rationalize – “one milkshake won’t make a difference in my blood sugar.”  You can talk yourself out of doing something just as quickly – “nobody will miss me if I don’t go to the family gathering.”  You can talk yourself into buying the latest model of something or talk yourself out of it because it is too expensive.

What is really going on?  It can be anxiety taking control of your thoughts and allowing you to go down the rabbit hole of all the worst possibilities.  You focus on the negative and make a quick diagnosis of the situation without stepping back and processing through.  You assume the outcome will be bad.  Nothing good ever happens to you.  You do not allow for a positive outcome or probability.  Your view of life looks for hurt, pain, and negativity.  It has become your normal.  You talk yourself into the negative and talk yourself out of taking the risk to enjoy life.

It is changing the inner self talk dialogue.  Talking yourself out of living in the past view of negativity changes your perspective and focus.  Life has good in it.  It is about attitude and acceptance.  You can also talk yourself out of enjoying the adventures and relationships in life, believing you do not matter, and life is not worth the effort.  Again, it is your attitude and negative slant on life.

Talk yourself into believing you have value and worth.  Talk yourself out of the thoughts that everything and everyone is against you.  Talk yourself into finding value, purpose and meaning in the moments of each day.  Talk yourself out of making excuses, not attempting the next steps, and staying a victim of your circumstances.  Talk yourself out of anxiety and worry.  Talk yourself into trusting God and prayer.  Talk yourself out of living in the past and being the victim.  Talk yourself into accepting you have value and worth and you are loved by God and others.

You have a lot of influence on what goes on inside your own head and heart.  Who are you letting in and listening to?  Talking yourself into and out of is that inner dialogue between good and bad, between existing and actually living.  It is a way also to look at both sides of a situation and decide what is best for you.  It can be a way to motivate – talk yourself into finishing a project.  It can be a way to set boundaries – talk yourself out of saying or doing something you will regret.

So, talking to yourself is healthy.  It is a way to process.  Know your boundaries and values in this conversation.  Talk yourself out of going down the negative path of life.  Talk yourself into enjoying life and being healthy.  Enjoy your conversation with yourself.

Elaine J. Sturtz

Living In The Different