My Encouraging Internal Voice

"I've talked myself out of doing a lot."

John Martin

My Encouraging Internal Voice

My phone rang. When I saw the number flash on the screen I was excited because I thought I knew who it was. I was going to answer with, "hi John" but I've guessed wrong so many other times that I decided to forego the embarrassment of guessing wrong again. As it turns out, it was my friend John from Anchorage.

"I'm on my way down to visit for a couple of days and I want to get together," John said.

I was excited to see him because we've been close friends for lots of years. One of the great things about our relationship is that we could go for years without seeing each other, but when we get together is seems to instantly make the time vanish so it's as if we've never spent any time apart. This time was no exception and we dove into a great conversation over lunch.

As we talked, John described something that I've noticed in my own life. "There a lot of things I'd like to do, but as I spend time thinking about it I find that I talk myself out of doing it. I've talked myself out of doing a lot."

I replied, "I do the same kind of thing. My excuses are statements such as, I don't have the time, I don't have the money or the one I seem to use more and more often, I'm too old to do that now." As these words escaped my lips I thought, "Perhaps I can do something about this habit."

Since I've been talking myself out of doing what I want to do, could change and begin to use that same powerful process to my benefit? Some people would call this the process of harnessing the power of affirmation. But, what I'm talking about is something different. Or, perhaps I've simply used the wrong process of affirmation building in the past. Here's an example and the steps of my new process and I hope you'll benefit from using the steps in your own life.

My friend Cade came up to me this morning and we talked for a while. During the conversation I thought, "I want to speak with him about participating in my neighborhood project." I've been meaning to speak with my neighbors about participating in my idea but I keep talking myself out of it because of the fear of rejection. So, as Cade and I conversed, I decided to "talk myself in to overcoming my fear." The results were wonderful.

Cade said, "I didn't know anyone else felt like this, of course I'll participate!"

Here's why I think this "self encouragement" worked: First, I have deep feelings about my neighborhood project. It's something I really believe in, so I have a growing passion for it. Second, I've come to the conclusion that I need to stop waiting for someone else to take the lead. If a difference is to be made then I need to be actively involved in making it. Third, as I surround myself with others who accept my invitation I'm more and more encouraged. Finally, I've found that a little encouragement from myself goes a long way. This little spark from inside is the driver for my success and it takes only little sparks on a regular basis to move things forward in a positive direction. Try these steps and see if they don't have the same effect in your life.

1. Discover your passions from deep within.
   
2. Lead yourself from the heart.
   
3. Surround yourself with like-minded people.
   
4. Spark your passion with combined internal and external encouragement.
   

The more small success I have along the way, the more I believe and then my encouraging self-talk soon becomes my loudest internal voice, my leading voice, and my voice of success.