Shut Your Trap: Words can sabotage success

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”.

We’ve all heard this saying, but maybe the person you are not being nice to is yourself. One of the most profound things I’ve heard recently was a statement from Joyce Meyer, “Some of you are depressing yourself with your own conversation. You don’t need any help from the devil. You don’t need anyone to discourage you. You are an expert at depressing yourself.” 

I think this is even worse in today’s full of economic hardships and stress. Not only do we talk negatively about our circumstances but we often talk negatively about ourselves.

Quit Beating Yourself Up!
We say “I can’t…”, “I’ll never be able to…”, “I’ll always be…”. We fill our thoughts and talk with negativity and self-criticism. Maybe you don’t think it’s necessarily wrong, or maybe you feel as if it is indeed a fact, but I believe it IS wrong and I believe it’s actually bad for your health.

Ephesians says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. …Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” 

Two key words here: Any and All. I think we only think of how we speak to others, but it didn’t say that – it said ANY unwholesome talk and ALL bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking. Many of us are not mad at others as much as we are mad at, or disappointed in, ourselves. This negative talk can stifle progress and sabotage success.

Why Even Try?
Think about it. How hard would you really try (at anything) when the entire time you are thinking you will fail. How much effort do you want to give with your workouts or diet when you are telling yourself you are a loser. How hard do you try to find that job, or much do you dream of starting that business, if you already tell yourself it will never happen. I promise you, if I already was thinking I’d fail, I wouldn’t waste the time or energy.

Positive talk, dreaming big, visualizing success, and pointing out all of your valuable positive traits is crucial to your success and health. I don’t care how many bad traits you have, you have good ones. It’s time you focus on THOSE things. It’s time to remind yourself how great you truly are, how far you’ve come, and how much potential you really do have.

Next time you start to say something bad about yourself, do not let another word come out of your mouth until you replace it with something positive. Even if it’s just a fact. For instance, if you were tempted to say “I’m always going to be fat and lazy”, replace it with “if I keep dieting and working out I can get skinny”. Maybe you don’t feel like working out and dieting, but it’s a fact that it works and it can work for you too.

Quit talking bad about yourself and quit listening to yourself! Because the old saying “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” has more weight than you think.

Improving your health, starts with improving your thoughts.

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