We are all engaged in self-talk most of the time. The little voice in our head that talks to us like we’re another person. Unfortunately, what we’re hearing isn’t always positive.
You can’t do this. You don’t know what you’re talking about. This is too risky. Somebody else is more qualified. Do this later. Just go watch some TV. But what if…
This negative self-talk is based on fear, self-doubt, and years of programming. We hear a negative message about ourselves (or people like us) so much, that eventually we start to believe it and it becomes headcanon.
Over the years, I’ve tried to unpack my negative inner voices. Some of it is anxiety, passed on (with love) through nature and nurture from my parents.
”Stop. Watch out. This could be dangerous. What are the risks?”
Some of it comes from society.
”Women do this, they don’t do that”, ”Success means…”
Practicing positive self-talk is an important skill to learn. It helps us overcome the negativity in our head that stops us from doing that thing, making that decision, going after what we want.
Today, we’ll identify our positive affirmations and turn them into visuals, so we can remember them and go back to them whenever we need a motivational boost.
The Activity: Create your own motivational poster(s)
Step 1: Find your affirmations
Take out a pen and paper and write down phrases that you have heard or read that have motivated you in the past. Maybe you have a super supportive friend or partner who always knows the right thing say to motivate you? Or you have read some great advice in a book? What would you say to somebody you wanted to motivate?
Feel free to search online for phrases and positive affirmations, and write down the ones that really resonate with you.
Keep in mind that these don’t have to be all shiny rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes a little tough love can be just as motivating.
Step 2: Design the poster
Choose one (or all) of your motivations to turn into a poster. I recommend using a free design tool like Canva. It has great poster templates that you can choose from. You can also design your own using Powerpoint or Google Slides, and pasting in images and text.
And of course, if you have a bit more time and motivation (ha!), you can also design, draw, paint, or collage your very own poster.
Step 3: Keep it close
Once you’re happy with your poster(s) you can either print them, or save them on your phone or computer. You want to keep them close, so you can look at them whenever you need a little bit of positive self-talk and motivation.
My Examples
My affirmations are a nice mix of phrases I have read and things that people close to me have said in the past. I used Canva’s templates, and once I got started it was a bit hard to stop. So here are six of my very own motivational posters.
Multiple times a week, I hear my best friend’s voice in my head saying ”it’s not going to get any better”. She used to say this to motivate herself to do something she didn’t want to do. Like getting out of bed, which, admittedly, is a very tough thing to do when you’re a teenager. It means that this moment is as good as any to do it. Waiting any longer is not going to make it any better, so you might as well do it now.
Why NOT me? (With a very strong emphasis on the NOT). I tell myself this anytime my negative inner voice says that I’m not eligible / knowledgable / good enough to do something. To remind myself that I’m as good a candidate as anyone to accomplish it. It goes a little something like this:
”Wait, YOU can’t write a newsletter about mental health and art, you’re not formally educated enough on the subject!”
”But why NOT me? Yes, I’m not a trained psychologist, but I definitely have experience and things to say on the matter. So why NOT me?”
I can do hard things follows on from Why NOT me. A reminder that I am just as capable as anyone to figure out and achieve difficult things.
One parenting rule I live by is ”dirty child, happy child”. Painting, making sandcastles, making muffins, playing with mud, jumping in puddles. Most of what’s fun involves getting messy. What is true for kids is true for adults, but we seem to forget that sometimes. This poster is a reminder to stop worrying about it and just get my hands dirty.
Create, move, learn, and sleep. Those are the things that recharge my batteries, both emotionally and physically. Unfortunately, when I’m tired or anxious, these are not the things my monkey mind immediately goes to. Instead, it wants to turn off the world, watch TV until 3am, and eat crappy food. This is a poster to remind me to make the right choices whenever I’m not 100%.
That last one is SO important for me, both in my private life and at work. Choices that are easy to make, often don’t have the desired impact. They don’t change things in the way we want or need them to change. Easy choices often mean not doing something. Not moving to that country, not changing your career, not starting that newsletter, not following your passion, not having that difficult conversation. Take the easy way out and keep struggling, or make a hard choice once and enjoy the ride after? A life lived bravely, despite the fear of making some hard choices, is the basis for most of the good things in my life that I am so grateful for every day.
How about you? What are some of your go-to motivational quotes and affirmations?