Allow yourself to close your eyes and arrive in your body in the present moment.
Take a deep in-breath through your nose and then out through your mouth,
Releasing everything.
Second time in through your nose and out through your mouth.
A third time,
Breathing in through your nose,
Getting a lot of air,
And then release out through your mouth.
Now you can close your mouth and breathe normally through your nose.
Become aware of the negative self-talk that is happening inside of you right now.
You can put a label on it such as negativity,
Complaining,
Fear,
Loss of worth,
Whatever makes sense for you.
And notice how labeling it like this gives you some space,
Some distance.
Now notice the words that are being used in the self-talk.
Notice the feelings this creates in you and observe how this all plays out in your body.
Become aware of the sensations in your body that this negative self-talk creates.
Now begin to question your self-talk as if you're questioning someone who's trying to convince you of something you know is not true.
You can ask yourself,
Are you sure this is true?
Is there any other way of looking or feeling about the situation?
Are there any exceptions that show you that this interpretation is not correct?
If you were to believe the opposite,
What reasons would you have for that?
Are these thoughts yours or were they borrowed from someone,
From your parents and childhood conditioning?
From other people's fears and negativity?
And like this,
You keep on poking holes on this negative self-talk until it doesn't feel so strong anymore.
There is less certainty about it,
There's less energy about it.
You see it as just thoughts,
Assumptions that are not proven and that are hurting you for no good reason.
Now turn to the sensations in your body,
The sensations that are produced by this negative self-talk.
And if there is more than one,
Then focus on the strongest one.
And you may find that there is a sense of contraction somewhere in your body or a sense of nervousness and agitation.
Whatever is the sensation,
Observe it,
Become aware of it.
And now begin to relax those sensations.
Every time you breathe out,
You relax them.
You begin to consciously reverse those sensations.
If there was a sense of contraction,
With every exhalation you relax it.
If there was a sense of heat,
Then with every exhalation you cool it down.
If there was a sense of emptiness,
With every exhalation you are filling it up.
And now begin to tell yourself a different story,
To interpret things in a way that is more positive,
In a way that is more positive and more empowering.
If you find it challenging to create a more positive self-talk,
Then think of someone,
Someone you know,
Who would have a very different narrative about the same thing.
And see if you can adopt that.
Create a sentence,
An affirmation,
That affirms this more positive way of seeing things.
If you're struggling with self-criticism,
If that was your negative self-talk,
Then perhaps your affirmation could be I can do anything I set my mind to do.
I can achieve anything I commit myself to.
If your negative self-talk was about self-loathing,
Sense of unworthiness,
Then perhaps your affirmation could be I love myself for who I am,
No matter what.
So create an affirmation that is the opposite of your negative self-talk and repeat that to yourself.
Continue repeating in your mind this affirmation,
This positive self-talk,
And do so with conviction,
With energy.
If any thoughts come saying this is not true,
If any such doubts come,
Let them go.
We are not affirming the way things are.
We are creating the way you want things to be.
As you keep repeating this affirmation,
Have the sense that it is already true.
Feel the meaning of the words that you're repeating.
Make it real.
Now notice the sensations that this positive self-talk,
That this affirmation,
Creates in your body.
Now visualize yourself that you're going about your day and that negative self-talk comes up.
But this time,
Instead of being stuck with it,
You shift to your positive affirmation,
To your more empowering narrative.
See that shift happening and visualize that it's not only the words in your mind that are changing,
Not only the thoughts that are changing,
But the way you feel is changing.
From those sensations in your body associated with the negative self-talk to the sensations in your body associated with the positive self-talk.
Feel that shift happening and know that you're able to make this shift anytime you need and that every time you do so,
You are strengthening this new way of seeing things,
This new narrative that is more positive and empowering.
