Coffee Self-Talk by Kristen Helmstetter

Author:Kristen Helmstetter [Helmstetter, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780982372265
Publisher: Green Butterfly Press

5. Say It Out Loud

Some people choose to read their self-talk silently to themselves. Sometimes this might be your only option, such as in a crowded public space. That said, whenever possible, say your self-talk out loud!

When you speak your self-talk out loud, you’ll be more focused, and your mind will be less likely to wander. It also uses three modalities: reading (eyes), speaking (mouth), and hearing (ears). Which means it’s roughly three times as powerful as reading silently, with respect to the level of activity inside your brain.

Oftentimes, when reading silently, your mind can wander. Such as thinking about your to-do list, or thinking about how you slept the night before, or what to make for dinner. By reading, speaking, and hearing your self-talk, it makes your focus laser-sharp. This, in turn, makes the words easier to remember, and it makes them more meaningful, too. Speaking the words also makes them enter your subconscious mind for faster effectiveness, and it helps you connect with a deeper emotional response.

As I’ve said many times already, it’s OK if you don’t yet believe the words coming out of your mouth. You can totally fake it till you make it because that actually works. Muhammad Ali was famous for doing this. He once said, “To be a great champion, you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.”

Even when you’re pretending, you’re still firing and wiring, because your brain doesn’t know the difference between what you’re imagining is happening and what is really happening. You can think of it as “rehearsing for success.” Pretty soon, you won’t be pretending.

You might be skeptical about the claim that your brain doesn’t know the difference between what you say and what is true. I mean, part of you knows the difference… the part of you that’s doing the talking, of course. But the part of your brain that’s wiring new neural connections—it doesn’t know the difference. It’s just connecting neurons. This is why, for instance, people can increase their blood pressure and release cortisol, just with their thoughts. You can tell yourself you’re happy over and over, filling your head with thoughts and visions of happy encounters, and your brain will believe you’re happy.

And if you can’t say your self-talk out loud for whatever reason, at a minimum, mouthing the words silently will have more impact than just reading your Coffee Self-Talk to yourself. At a VERY minimum, have good posture while you’re doing this. Trust me on this, it just works. Something about snapping to attention and mouthing the words with intention—makes your brain take notice. (Do a little experiment right now and try this. You’ll see what I mean!)

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching.

William W. Purkey

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