Mind Control is the result of self-discipline and habit. You either control your mind or it controls you. The most practical of all methods for controlling the mind is the habit of keeping it busy with a definite purpose, backed by a definite plan. 

../Dale Carnagie

He who would be useful, strong, and happy must cease

to be a passive receptacle for the negative, beggarly, and impure streams of thought;

and as a wise householder commands his servants and invites his guests,

so must he learn to command his desires and to say, with authority,

what thoughts he shall admit into the mansion of his soul.

../James Allen

Do you ever feel like you are always talking yourself out of success?  As soon as you start to set goals for yourself, are you suddenly seized with those nagging thoughts about how you really are not up to the task, or how you simply aren’t qualified enough to see it through?

If you have ever experienced either of these situations, then you need to change the way you respond to your inner dialog.  Instead of obeying your negative commands, you have the power to use positive self-talk to counteract the negativity and overcome nearly all of your anxious thoughts.

Setting Goals and Sticking to Them

Are you usually initially filled with excitement when you first set new goals for yourself? Are these thoughts then quickly followed by self-doubt and self-defeating thoughts that stop you in your tracks before you can even really get started? It can be difficult to make the most of your life when you are constantly the person talking yourself out of being a success.  It can be frustrating and discouraging to have these thoughts constantly plaguing you. Many people, in fact, don’t even realize that they have them! All they can see is  that they don’t seem to have the confidence to stick to their plans and reach their goals.

But there is another way!

Positive self-talk is an effective way to set goals for yourself and ensure that you stick to them, even if you have never been able to accomplish this before.  The way this works is that you decide what goal is important to you, and then you plan the logistics of how you are going to attain that specific goal.  When self-doubt starts to kick in, you will respond with affirmations that prove your success without surrendering to the negative pressure. Since you are still reading this post, it’s clear that you are no quitter and you are certainly not a failure, so it is time to start believing in yourself!

Re-Program Your Mind

Affirmations are essentially positive statements that re-program your mind, or change your mind,  for the positive. The moment you have a self-defeating thought you would be able to counter the negative with a positively motivating statement. An example of a positive affirmation is: “I am worthy of great success,” or “I see myself in the winner’s circle.”  What this does is replace negativity with thoughts that will help you stay up and stay motivated while moving toward your goals instead of further away from them.

Positive self-talk is so much easier to implement than most people think. You may not be fully aware of the severity of your negative inner dialog currently going on inside of your mind. But, once you begin with positive self-talk, you will suddenly realize that you have been self-sabotaging the goals you set for yourself from the moment that you make them. This process will open your eyes to exactly how much this inner conversation has been interfering with your life and where you would like for it to go. You will begin to feel hopeful that you can now set goals and meet them, and even surpass them.

 Through positive self-talk you will be able to easily set long and short-term goals for yourself. And when you use affirmations, you will have access to tools that will help you push yourself further than you have ever gone before. Learning to quiet the negativity with positive thoughts is a great move toward setting and attaining future goals with ease.