Self-Criticism Is Also Just An Opinion
“She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it.”
Internal dialogues, we all have them. It is the little voice in our head that comments on everything in our lives. But what do we do when our own thoughts are the ones sabotaging our every move?
As a person with anxiety, I am very self-aware. This means that I always have an ongoing conversation in my head. This wouldn’t be such a bad thing if most of the thoughts that I was having were uplifting. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. I find myself worrying about the tiniest things and the heaviest worst-case scenarios. This occurs primarily when it comes to social encounters and other moments that I don’t have complete control over.
Recently, my therapist advised me to buy a notebook and start writing down all sorts of positive thoughts I have daily. I decided to give it a try. Every day I list one good thing that happened at work, a social situation that went well, and a compliment about myself. And I must say this makes me feel better at the end of the day, so I do it again the next. I guess it’s safe to say I’m successfully Pavlov-ing my own brain.
Your thoughts can make or break you. That’s why it’s so important to “be your own cheerleader,” as they say. However, this is so much easier said than done if you’ve never been optimistic by default. Over the last period, I’ve become more aware of the type of thoughts I was having and decided to reject them and toss them out. One thing that I keep reminding myself of is the fact that my thoughts aren’t always true. It hasn’t been easy. I've spent my whole life thinking a certain way, and now I’m consciously deconstructing my entire belief system. But I’m sure it’s going to be worth it.
One thing is for sure - I won’t become a positive person overnight, and I wouldn’t even want to. If there’s anything that we learned from Miley Cyrus, it is that “It’s all about the climb”,,” right? What I do know is that I'm ready to start listening to constructive thoughts that happen in my internal dialogue. Because, let’s face it, who isn’t a sucker for a happy ending.
