Program Your Mind with Positive Self-Talk

If our self-talk is negative and pessimistic, it permeates down to the subconscious and our personality becomes cynical and miserable. It is not uncommon for our inner voice to be our own worst enemy. It is the tormentor in the head that is incessantly punishing us and draining us of vital energy. Instead, if we use the power of affirmations to our benefit, we can programme our psyche in very positive ways.

Sports persons and athletes have always exploited the power of self-talk. For them, a hundredth of a second improvement in their performance can mean the difference between a silver and a gold medal. Consequently, they strive to bring their body-mind-intellect to a state of peak performance. To accomplish it, they repeatedly speak to themselves.

The legendary Muhammad Ali’s indoctrination of himself with ‘I am the greatest’ is well-known. However, his is not the only example of self-talk amongst champions. Practically all sports champs at the higher competitive levels stimulate themselves with self-talk such as ‘you need to relax’, ‘stay calm’, ‘stay focused’, and so on.

They do it either verbally or silently in the mind. The first Olympic Games of modern times were held in 1896, in Athens. However, until 1954, nobody had run the mile in less than four minutes. It was considered an impossibility and various reasons were attributed why it could not be done. Some said that the heart was not strong enough—if exerted so much, the heart would burst.

Others said that the lungs were too small for it—they could not supply the oxygen to sustain the effort. Then came a medical student, Roger Bannister. He refused to believe that the four-minute barrier was unbreakable. His self-talk was ‘I can do it …. I can do it.’ His subconscious became programmed accordingly, and consequently, on 6 May 1954, with minimal training, he ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

The miracle that followed Roger Bannister’s achievement was astonishing. Just forty-five days later, his competitor, John Landy, ran a mile in 3 minutes 58 seconds. The matter did not stop there. In the same year, 29 runners broke the four-minute barrier.

The next year, 237 runners clocked the sub-four-minute mile. What had suddenly changed? Roger Bannister’s feat had altered the self-talk of all middle distance runners to ‘It can be done …. It can be done.’ Deliberate self-talk for the purpose of programming the mind is called ‘positive affirmation’. It capitalises on the power of repetition

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When a message is iterated again and again, it goes deep within and is internalised. In mind management, positive affirmations have a significant role to play. We can use it to develop a positive personality, full of optimism, faith, courage, perseverance, and purpose.

Some positive affirmations we can use are:

1. 1. I have infinite potential for growth.
2. 2. The universe has a great plan for me.
3. 3. God’s grace is upon me. I will surely succeed.
4. 4. I am protected by my divine Father. There is nothing to fear. There is abundance in the universe, and I will always have enough.
5. 5. My body is in good health. The organs are healthy and well.
6. Every cell in my body is sparkling with joy and bliss.
7. 6. I will focus on the effort without worrying about the results.
8. Whatever happens will be for the good.
9. 7. I can do it. I will succeed. The goal is almost achieved.
10. 8. My work is very important. I am trying to please God through it.
11. I have received so much from God. I must give back through devotion.

Positive affirmation is thus carefully selected self-talk that moulds our subconscious in the manner we desire.