Summary: Legendary entrepreneur, Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t. You’re right.” As human beings we are constantly having a dialogue with ourselves and this self-talk to a large extent determines our self-image and self-confidence. The conversations we have with ourselves can be self-sabotaging or fruitful and this depends upon our emotions, mood and personality.  SME Expert Dhananjay Parkhe explains the power of positive self-talk to achieve our goals.

The way we self-speak can help us develop into a well-rounded and confident person or a failure. While some may say that this is an exaggeration, the fact remains that positive self-talk is a powerful tool that we all possess.

How can self-development happen with self-speak?

• Self-speak plays a huge role in our self-image.
• Self-image plays a huge role in our self-confidence.
• Self-confidence plays a huge role in our ability to succeed in various endeavours.
  
  

Let’s try and understand with some real-life examples.

There is a real story about an all-star baseball player, who once decided to visit a prison to inspire inmates to develop themselves.  He shared a story of his father who always encouraged him as a little boy.  His dad always encouraged him by saying, “Son, if you keep on hitting the ball like that, you’ll end up in the biggest league one day.”  Sure enough, he ended up as an all-star in the biggest baseball league.

A prisoner stood up and said, “Hey, my dad told me something similar when I was a kid. Every time I did something my dad disliked, he looked at me and said, "Son, if you keep on misbehaving like this, you’ll end up in prison one day. Sure enough, I ended up in prison."

90% of male prisoners were maltreated by their own parents as little children. They were spoken to like they were prisoners, way before they ended up in prisons.  Now, don't come to the conclusion that our parents determine the future for us in advance.  We have the ability to respond to our circumstances. It would however, help immensely if we had a solid foundation and a positive self-image.

The takeaway from the story is simple: the way we speak to ourselves plays a vital role in the way we perceive ourselves. The way we perceive ourselves plays a massive role in how confident we are. Our self-confidence determines whether we decide to take on challenges and pursue success in the face of adversity, or whether we decide to live below our highest potential. The choice is ours.

Therefore, to develop a positive self-image we must:

• Encourage ourselves. Love ourselves.
• We cannot expect things to change in our life unless we change.
• Self-speak plays a huge role in our self-image. Therefore, speak positively to yourself.
• Our self-image plays a huge role in our self-confidence.
• Our self-confidence plays a huge role in our ability to succeed in the various endeavours we decide to pursue in our life.

I therefore urge you to exercise positive self-talk on a consistent basis and live your highest potential.

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