Negative Self Talk and How To Beat It

“It’s not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life, it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the most power!” — Robert Kiyosaki

Learn how to silence your inner critic and cultivate empowering self-talk with practical strategies for personal growth and confidence.

Negative self-talk has a powerful grip on our lives.

It’s the silent, inner critic that erodes confidence, fuels anxiety, and distracts us when we need focus the most.

It can chip away at our self-esteem and, if left unchecked, weave a thread of negativity through our days, ultimately shaping our lives in ways we never intended.

Early on at Microsoft, I confronted the formidable challenge of taming my negative self-talk head-on.

I realized that to unlock my true potential, I needed to undergo a profound transformation.

My transformation started with reshaping my identity, shifting my focus from negativity to positivity, and evolving from an inner critic into a coach of my own thoughts.

In this article, I’ll take you on a journey I embarked on—a journey from the clutches of negative self-talk to the empowering realm of self-belief.

Along the way, I’ll share the invaluable tools, principles, and proven practices that have made a profound difference in my life, equipping you to embark on your own path of self-transformation.

What is Negative Self Talk?

Negative self-talk is akin to having an unwelcome, hyper-critical roommate residing within your mind’s confines.

This internal chatterbox specializes in highlighting your imperfections and blunders, all the while conveniently omitting your strengths and achievements from the conversation.

Imagine it as harboring a perpetual pessimist as your thought companion, and its effects on your emotional state and self-worth can be quite profound.

It’s like carrying around a relentless critic within your own mind, ready to cast shadows on your self-esteem and overall outlook.

Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)

ANTs, or Automatic Negative Thoughts, are those pesky, recurring, and often irrational thoughts that pop into your mind automatically, like uninvited guests at a party.

These thoughts are usually negative and can be self-critical, pessimistic, or anxious in nature.

They tend to focus on your perceived flaws, past mistakes, potential failures, or worst-case scenarios.

ANTs can sneak into your mind without conscious effort and influence your mood, self-esteem, and overall outlook on life.

They’re like the little voices in your head that constantly whisper doubts and negativity.

Recognizing and challenging these automatic negative thoughts is an essential skill for improving your mental well-being and achieving a more positive mindset.

By doing so, you can reduce their impact and replace them with more rational and constructive thinking patterns.

Types of Negative Self Talk

Negative self-talk can take various forms, such as:

All-or-Nothing Thinking: You tend to view situations in extreme, black-and-white terms, leaving no room for middle ground. For example, if you don’t achieve absolute success, you see it as an utter failure.
Anxious Repetitive Thoughts: Anxious repetitive thoughts are persistent, distressing mental loops that often focus on worrisome scenarios or concerns.
Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs): Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) are spontaneous, pessimistic thought patterns that typically emphasize self-criticism, worst-case scenarios, or unrealistic generalizations.
Catastrophizing: It’s like your mind’s talent for turning small issues into full-blown disasters, even when the worst-case scenario is highly unlikely.
Filtering: It’s akin to wearing negativity-tinted glasses, where you focus solely on the gloomy side of things and conveniently ignore any silver linings.
Labeling: This is when you resort to using harsh and unkind labels to describe yourself, like “stupid,” “incompetent,” or “worthless.”
Negative Chatter: Negative chatter represents the critical and self-sabotaging thoughts generated by our inner critics, saboteurs, or cruel super-egos.
Negative Core Beliefs: Your negative self-talk might be a reflection of your negative core beliefs. Your negative core beliefs are deeply ingrained, pessimistic self-perceptions such as “I am stupid”, “I am ugly,” and “I am unlovable”.
Overgeneralization: This involves taking one negative experience and applying it to your entire life, almost like saying, “I messed up once, so I’m a total failure.”
Personalization: You might find yourself attributing external events or other people’s actions to your own supposed flaws, even when it’s not your fault.
Self-Criticism: This is when you constantly beat yourself up for mistakes or perceived shortcomings, as if you’re your own harshest critic.

What are the Negative Impacts of Negative Self Talk?

Negative self-talk has a far-reaching and detrimental effect on various aspects of life, making it a serious issue that deserves attention and mitigation.

The negative impacts of negative self-talk are extensive and significant.

They include:

Reduced Academic Performance: Studies show that negative self-talk can hinder academic performance, causing students to perform poorly on tests and assignments.
Performance Anxiety: Negative self-talk contributes to stage fright and can lead to a tendency to catastrophize, affecting the performance of artists and performers.
Hindered Negotiations: In the business world, negative self-talk can undermine negotiations and hinder one’s ability to advocate for themselves effectively.
Career Limitations: It can hold individuals back in their careers, preventing them from pursuing opportunities and reaching their full potential.
Social Isolation: Negative self-talk can negatively impact social interactions and relationships, potentially leading to social isolation and difficulty in forming connections.
Chronic Stress: The physiological stress reactions caused by negative self-talk can contribute to chronic stress, which is harmful to both mental and physical health.

Negative Self Talk and Confidence

Negative self-talk is a significant obstacle to developing and maintaining confidence.

Confidence is built on positive self-perception, self-belief, and a healthy self-esteem.

Negative self-talk, which involves self-criticism, self-doubt, and focusing on your flaws, undermines confidence by eroding self-esteem and creating a pessimistic self-image.

Confidence is more likely to be nurtured through positive self-affirmation, self-encouragement, and a focus on your strengths and abilities.

In other words, you need to learn how to handle your negative self-talk so your confidence can bloom.

Negative Self Talk and Learned Helplessness

Learned Helplessness and negative self-talk are closely related in the realm of psychology and self-perception.

Learned Helplessness is a psychological theory developed by Martin Seligman.

It suggests that when individuals repeatedly face situations where they believe they have no control or influence over outcomes, they may develop a sense of helplessness.

Over time, this learned helplessness can lead to feelings of powerlessness, lack of motivation, and even depression.

Now, here’s how it relates to negative self-talk:

Self-Perception: Negative self-talk often involves individuals repeatedly telling themselves negative things like, “I can’t do this,” or “I’m not good enough.” These thoughts erode self-esteem and create a sense of helplessness.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: When you engage in negative self-talk, you’re essentially predicting your own failure or inability. If you constantly tell yourself you can’t succeed, you’re less likely to take action and make an effort, which can lead to actual failures.
Learned Helplessness Loop: Negative self-talk can reinforce learned helplessness. When you convince yourself that you’re incapable, you’re less likely to attempt new challenges or persist in the face of setbacks. This lack of effort can lead to actual failures, confirming your negative beliefs.

Negative self-talk can contribute to a self-reinforcing cycle of learned helplessness.

To break this cycle, you need to recognize and challenge negative self-talk, replacing it with more positive and constructive thoughts.

This shift in thinking can empower individuals to regain a sense of control and motivation in their lives.

Where Does Negative Self Talk Come From?

Negative self-talk can originate from various sources and experiences, but it typically emerges from a combination of internal and external factors:

Early Life Experiences: Negative self-talk can be rooted in childhood experiences, such as critical parents, teachers, or peers. Constant criticism during formative years can lead to the internalization of these negative messages.
Traumatic Events: Traumatic experiences or significant setbacks in life can trigger negative self-talk. These events can lead individuals to develop self-doubt, guilt, or feelings of inadequacy.
Cultural and Societal Influences: Societal norms, media portrayals, and cultural expectations can contribute to negative self-talk by promoting unrealistic standards of beauty, success, or achievement.
Comparisons: Constantly comparing oneself to others, especially in the age of social media, can fuel feelings of inferiority and self-criticism.
Personality and Genetics: Some individuals may have a predisposition toward negative thinking patterns due to their personality traits or genetic makeup.
Stress and Anxiety: High-stress levels and anxiety can exacerbate negative self-talk, as heightened emotions often amplify self-critical thoughts.

Understanding the roots of negative self-talk is the first step in addressing and challenging these thought patterns.

The key is to recognize that these thoughts may not reflect reality and can be reshaped through self-awareness and cognitive-behavioral techniques.

Strategies for Changing Negative Self-Talk

I’ll walk through each of these strategies in more detail, but first I want to lay out the big picture of proven practices for dealing with negative self-talk.

Here are proven practices for dealing with negative self-talk that have stood the test of time:

Change Your Identity Thought Habits: Reshape your identity thought habits by using phrases like “I am not the kind of person who…” to distance yourself from undesired behaviors and “I am the kind of person who…” to embrace desired qualities. This reinforces your commitment to your values and goals and helps counteract negative self-talk.
Change Your Perspective in the Face of Negative Chatter: Shift your perspective by adopting an observer perspective or practicing time traveling. These approaches provide clarity, reduce emotional intensity, and connect you to a broader context, making it easier to cope with challenges and negative self-talk.
Psychological and Cognitive Distancing: Embrace psychological distancing by mentally stepping back from a situation to gain objectivity. Practice cognitive distancing by recognizing that thoughts are mental events, not truths. These techniques reduce emotional reactivity and promote a more balanced view of situations.
Ancient Wisdom Practices: Stoicism, Buddhism, and Daoism emphasize seeking distance from your thoughts as a core practice to attain emotional resilience, mindfulness, and a deeper understanding of reality.
Cognitive Defusion: Use cognitive defusion techniques to detach from your thoughts, treating them as mental events rather than absolute truths. By creating space and observing thoughts without attachment, you can reduce emotional reactivity and make more intentional choices.
Challenge Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs): Identify and challenge automatic negative thoughts, replacing them with more balanced and constructive alternatives.
From Inner Critic to Coach: Shift your internal dialogue from self-criticism to self-coaching. Instead of berating yourself for mistakes, adopt a more supportive and solution-focused mindset.
Don’t Make Things Permanent, Personal, or Pervasive: Avoid assuming that problems will last forever, taking undue blame for situations, or letting one negative event affect everything. Maintain a more positive, balanced, and resilient outlook.

These strategies empower you to manage negative self-talk, enhance emotional resilience, and foster a more positive self-image.

Change Your Identity Thought Habits to Reduce Negative Self-Talk

Reshaping your identity thought habits can be a powerful strategy for mitigating negative self-talk and fostering a more positive self-image.

Here are two uncommon knowledge insights and practical approaches to help you in this endeavor:

“I Am Not the Kind of Person Who…”: Use this phrase to distance yourself from behaviors, beliefs, or actions that you want to avoid. It’s a way of reinforcing your commitment to your values and desired identity.
- Example: If you want to quit smoking, you can say to yourself, “I am not the kind of person who smokes.” This simple statement reinforces your identity as a non-smoker and helps counteract the temptation.
“I Am the Kind of Person Who…”: Conversely, use this phrase to embrace the qualities, habits, or behaviors you want to embody. It’s a way of affirming your identity in alignment with your goals.
- Example: If you’re working on improving your physical fitness, you can say, “I am the kind of person who prioritizes exercise and healthy living.” This reinforces your identity as someone committed to a healthy lifestyle.

Insights and Benefits:

Identity Shaping: These phrases allow you to actively shape your identity by focusing on the traits and behaviors you aspire to or wish to avoid.
Positive Reinforcement: By framing your self-talk in terms of your identity, you’re more likely to act in accordance with your values and goals.
Clarified Intentions: It helps clarify your intentions and makes them more concrete, which can enhance motivation and commitment.
Reduced Cognitive Dissonance: When your self-talk aligns with your desired identity, it reduces cognitive dissonance—internal conflicts between your actions and beliefs.
Incremental Change: These phrases encourage incremental change by creating a sense of continuity with your ideal self.

Remember that changing identity thought habits is a gradual process, so be patient with yourself.

Consistently using these phrases can gradually shift your self-perception and help you respond to negative self-talk with more self-compassion and determination.

Over time, you’ll find it easier to silence that inner critic and embrace a more positive and empowering self-identity.

Change Your Perspective in the Face of Negative Chatter

When we find ourselves caught up in negative self-talk or facing challenging situations, one powerful strategy is to shift our perspective.

This means looking at ourselves or our problems from a different angle, which can provide clarity, relief, and a sense of connection to a larger picture.

Here are a couple of effective ways to do this:

Observer Perspective: Instead of being deeply immersed in our problems, we can take a step back and observe ourselves as if we were an outsider looking in. It’s like becoming the spectator of your own life. This perspective allows us to see things more objectively, without the emotional intensity that often accompanies personal struggles.Example: Imagine you’re dealing with a difficult work situation where you made a mistake. Instead of dwelling on self-criticism, try to view yourself as if you were a coworker or friend observing your actions. This can help you see the situation more rationally and with less self-blame.
Time Traveling: Another way to change perspective is by “time traveling.” This means considering the past and future. Think about your place in history—how your ancestors faced their own challenges and survived. Also, try to project yourself into the future and imagine how you might look back on your current problem in, say, 10 years.Example: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a personal setback, reflect on the fact that generations before you have endured their share of difficulties. This can give you a sense of resilience and strength. Also, consider how this challenge might seem much smaller and more manageable in the grander scheme of your life.

Benefits of Changing Your Perspective:

Reduced Emotional Intensity: Shifting perspective often lessens the emotional burden of a situation, making it easier to cope with.
Enhanced Problem-Solving: It can lead to more effective problem-solving because you’re seeing the issue from different angles.
Greater Resilience: By connecting to the broader context of human history or imagining a future perspective, you can build resilience and maintain a more positive outlook.

Changing your perspective is a valuable tool for managing negative chatter and navigating life’s challenges with greater wisdom and resilience.

It’s about stepping out of the immediate emotional turmoil and gaining a broader, more balanced view of your situation.

Psychological Distancing

Psychological distancing is a cognitive and emotional strategy that involves mentally stepping back from a situation to gain a broader perspective.

It’s like viewing a scenario from an outsider’s viewpoint, which can help you reduce emotional intensity and reactivity.

This distancing allows you to approach challenges with more objectivity and less emotional bias.

Example:

Imagine you receive some critical feedback at work. Instead of immediately feeling hurt or defensive, you step back mentally and try to see the feedback as constructive criticism.

You remind yourself that it’s an opportunity to improve and grow.

Cognitive Distancing

Cognitive distancing is a subset of psychological distancing that specifically focuses on creating distance from your thoughts.

This is a hallmark of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

It involves recognizing that thoughts are not facts or truths but are mental events that come and go.

By distancing yourself from thoughts, individuals can avoid getting entangled in negative thought patterns and emotional reactions.

Example:

If you catch yourself thinking, “I’m a failure because I made a mistake,” you practice cognitive distancing by acknowledging that this is just a passing thought.

You don’t automatically accept it as a fact about yourself but treat it as one of many thoughts you experience.

Ancient Wisdom Practices

Many ancient wisdom traditions, such as Stoicism, Buddhism, and Daoism, emphasize seeking distance from your thoughts as a core practice:

Stoicism: Stoicism teaches that one can achieve tranquility and wisdom by recognizing that external events are beyond our control, but our reactions to them are within our control. This philosophy encourages distancing oneself from irrational or negative thoughts to attain emotional resilience.
Buddhism: Buddhism emphasizes mindfulness and meditation as practices that help individuals observe their thoughts without attachment. By creating mental distance from thoughts, Buddhists seek to reduce suffering and gain insight into the nature of reality.
Daoism: Daoism encourages living in harmony with the Dao (the Way) and embracing the natural flow of life. This philosophy often involves letting go of rigid thinking and adopting a more flexible, detached perspective on events.

In all these practices, the goal is to avoid becoming overly entangled in one’s thoughts and emotions, allowing for greater mental clarity, emotional balance, and resilience in the face of life’s challenges.

Cognitive Defusion

Cognitive defusion is a psychological technique used in therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you detach from your thoughts and gain greater control over them.

It involves treating thoughts as mental events rather than absolute truths and reducing their impact on emotions and behaviors.

How Cognitive Defusion Works:

Identifying Thoughts: The first step is recognizing that you’re having a thought. This is about becoming aware of the mental chatter happening in your mind.
Creating Space: Cognitive defusion is about creating mental space between yourself and your thoughts. You acknowledge that thoughts are not the same as reality; they’re just mental events passing through your mind.
Labeling Thoughts: You can label your thoughts, like “I’m having the thought that…” or “My mind is telling me that…”. This helps you distance yourself from the content of the thought.
Observing without Attachment: Instead of immediately reacting to a thought emotionally or behaviorally, you observe it without judgment. You neither accept nor reject the thought; you simply notice it.

Example:

Imagine you’re anxious about an upcoming presentation at work.

A thought arises: “I’m going to mess up and embarrass myself.”

Using cognitive defusion, you might say to yourself, “I’m having the thought that I’ll mess up.”

By doing this, you’re creating a gap between yourself and the anxious thought.

You don’t automatically believe it or let it dictate your actions.

Benefits of Cognitive Defusion:

Reduced Emotional Reactivity: Cognitive defusion helps you react less emotionally to distressing thoughts. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by them, you can observe them more calmly.
Enhanced Flexibility: It allows you to choose how to respond to thoughts rather than reacting automatically. This can lead to more adaptive behaviors and decision-making.
Improved Psychological Well-being: By reducing the impact of negative or unhelpful thoughts, cognitive defusion contributes to better mental health and overall well-being.

Cognitive defusion is a valuable skill for managing thoughts and emotions, promoting mindfulness, and fostering psychological flexibility.

It helps you gain greater control over your inner dialogue and make more intentional choices in your life.

Challenge Your Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)

Dr. David D. Burns, a renowned psychiatrist and author of “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy,” developed a cognitive therapy approach to help individuals challenge and defeat their Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs).

In his therapeutic process, individuals learn to identify and reframe these negative thoughts to improve their emotional well-being.

Here’s how Dr. Burns and Dr. Amen, a psychiatrist known for his work on brain health, might approach challenging ANTs:

Identify Negative Thoughts:
- Dr. Burns: The first step is to become aware of the negative thoughts that pop into your mind. These are often automatic, recurring, and deeply ingrained patterns of thinking.
- Dr. Amen: Dr. Amen might emphasize the connection between negative thoughts and their impact on brain health. He would encourage individuals to recognize that negative thought patterns can lead to stress, anxiety, and potentially affect brain function negatively.
Label Cognitive Distortions:
- Dr. Burns: Dr. Burns teaches his patients to identify common cognitive distortions or thinking errors, such as all-or-nothing thinking, mind-reading, or catastrophizing. These distortions contribute to ANTs.
- Dr. Amen: Dr. Amen might discuss the neural patterns associated with these cognitive distortions and how they can lead to an imbalance in brain activity. He would emphasize the importance of correcting these distortions for better brain health.
Challenge Negative Thoughts:
- Dr. Burns: Once identified, individuals learn to challenge their negative thoughts by examining the evidence that supports or contradicts them. They might ask themselves questions like, “Is this thought based on facts or assumptions?” or “What’s the worst-case scenario, and how likely is it to happen?”
- Dr. Amen: Dr. Amen could suggest that challenging negative thoughts not only has psychological benefits but also helps optimize brain function. By replacing negative thought patterns with more positive and rational ones, individuals can improve their overall brain health and resilience.
Reframe Thoughts:
- Dr. Burns: Dr. Burns encourages his patients to reframe their negative thoughts into more balanced, realistic, and compassionate statements. This process involves substituting irrational beliefs with healthier alternatives.
- Dr. Amen: Dr. Amen might emphasize how positive thinking and cognitive reframing can lead to improved brain activity and better emotional regulation. He would highlight the brain’s plasticity and its ability to adapt to more positive thought patterns.
Practice and Consistency:
- Both Dr. Burns and Dr. Amen would stress the importance of regular practice. Challenging and reframing negative thoughts is a skill that requires consistent effort and mindfulness.

Both approaches aim to help you regain control over your thought patterns, leading to improved mental health and emotional well-being.

Dr. Burns focuses on cognitive therapy techniques, while Dr. Amen emphasizes the brain’s role in thought patterns and overall health.

Combining these perspectives can provide a comprehensive approach to challenging ANTs and promoting positive mental and brain health.

From Inner Critic to Coach

Transitioning from your inner critic to your inner coach involves a profound shift in the way you engage with yourself.

This transformation is rooted in self-compassion, constructive feedback, and personal growth.

Here’s how you can make this shift with uncommon knowledge and actionable insights:

1. Self-Compassion

Instead of berating yourself for your shortcomings, embrace self-compassion. Dr. Kristin Neff, a pioneering researcher in this field, defines self-compassion as treating yourself with the same kindness and care that you would offer a good friend. This involves understanding that making mistakes and facing challenges are part of being human.

Self-compassion isn’t about excusing your flaws or avoiding accountability; it’s about recognizing that everyone makes mistakes and experiences setbacks.

When you catch yourself engaging in self-criticism, pause and ask, “Would I say this to a friend?” If not, reframe your self-talk with kindness. For instance, instead of saying, “I’m such an idiot for making that error,” say, “I made a mistake, but I can learn from it.”

2. Constructive Feedback

Your inner critic tends to highlight your weaknesses without offering solutions. Shift towards being your inner coach by providing constructive feedback. This means identifying areas for improvement while offering practical steps for growth.

The most effective coaches in sports or life don’t just point out errors; they provide guidance and encouragement for improvement.

After acknowledging a mistake or area where you want to grow, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” Then, set specific, actionable goals. For instance, if you struggled with public speaking, commit to joining a public speaking club or practicing regularly.

3. Personal Growth

Embrace a growth mindset—a concept popularized by psychologist Carol Dweck. A growth mindset views challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than failures. It believes in the capacity to develop skills and abilities through dedication and hard work.

Your abilities and intelligence are not fixed traits; they can be cultivated and expanded with effort and resilience.

When confronted with a challenging task or when facing self-doubt, remind yourself that you can improve. Instead of thinking, “I’m not good at this,” think, “I may not be good at this yet, but I can get better with practice.”

Example of Going from Inner Critic to Coach

Imagine you’re working on a project, and you receive critical feedback from your manager.

Your inner critic might respond with, “I can’t believe I messed this up. I’m such a failure.”

This self-talk only amplifies your stress and erodes your confidence.

Transitioning to your inner coach, you would approach it differently.

You’d say, “I appreciate the feedback; it helps me understand where I can improve.

I’ll review the feedback, identify specific areas to work on, and seek guidance or resources to enhance my skills.”

In this way, you’ve shifted from self-blame to self-empowerment, using feedback as a tool for growth rather than self-condemnation.

The journey from inner critic to inner coach is ongoing, but with practice, it becomes a natural and empowering way to navigate life’s challenges, fostering resilience, self-improvement, and a healthier self-relationship.

Don’t Make Things Permanent, Personal, or Pervasive

To protect yourself from Learned Helplessness, change your explanatory style from permanent, personal, and pervasive to temporary, external, and specific.

Here are examples:

Permanent: This is when you believe a problem will last forever. For example, if you make a mistake at work and think, “I’ll never get anything right,” that’s making it permanent. Instead, you could say, “I made a mistake, but I can learn from it and do better next time.”
Personal: Making something personal is taking blame for things that aren’t your fault. For instance, if a friend cancels plans with you, thinking, “They canceled because they don’t like me,” is personalizing it. Instead, you could think, “They might have had a busy day, and it’s not about me.”
Pervasive: Pervasive thinking means believing one negative event affects everything. For instance, if you have a minor disagreement with a colleague and think, “My whole day is ruined,” that’s making it pervasive. Instead, you could say, “We had a disagreement, but it won’t affect the rest of my day.”

So, it’s about not assuming the worst, not taking all the blame, and not letting one negative thing spoil everything else.

It’s a way to stay positive, balanced, and resilient in the face of challenges.

Try Approving Yourself

We covered a lot of ground. I hope you feel at least more confident in your ability to tackle your negative self-talk with skill.

I’d like to leave you with this quote from Louise Hay:

“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” — Louise Hay

I love what you’re capable of.

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