THE Way to Think
Imagine how you would feel if you could replace negative, self-destructive Inner Talk with creative, life-affirming Inner Talk — Inner Talk that embraces reality but also shapes it in a way that promotes your personal and spiritual growth.
This means Inner Talk that cultivates THE Way to Think — thinking that is:
True Happy Effective
True affirms that our Inner Talk reflects our highest understanding about the truth of any situation. This first principle insures that our Inner Talk is as accurate as possible. Telling the truth (and not simply basing our Inner Talk on old programming) can accelerate our growth faster than almost anything else. Telling the truth prevents both overoptimistic Pollyanna-type thinking and pessimistic, negative thinking. All we need to do is ask ourselves, "What’s the truth about this?"
Happy signifies that, once our Inner Talk passes the truth test, we are free to talk to ourselves in a way that is emotionally healing and supportive, that reflects and enhances a high sense of self-acceptance and self-esteem. This second principle helps us replace critical, self-sabotaging dialogues with Inner Talk that allows us to meet life with vibrant energy, enthusiasm and joy. When we ask ourselves, "What do I need to hear right now?", we are training our emotional intelligence.
Effective refers to Inner Talk that works, that helps us cope and assists us in getting the job done. Negative Inner Talk is based on the faulty belief that the best way to motivate ourselves is through fear, shame and threats. This approach is widespread in our culture, yet it doesn’t work nearly as well as being motivated by inspiration and positive reinforcement. This third principle encourages us to be very pragmatic and to ask ourselves, "What kind of Inner Talk would be most effective in helping me to meet my goals right now?"
© Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety, Robert Gerzon, 1997.
Find out more about Robert Gerzon’s highly acclaimed book Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety.
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