Do you ever talk to yourself? Be honest! If you find yourself answering my question then I have news for you, you’re talking to yourself right now! Psychologists call it “self-talk” and they say how we do it has a huge impact on our mood and our behavior. Self-talk is your little inner-voice and it happens without you even knowing it. It might be little, but it’s powerful! There are two kinds of self-talk, negative and positive. How it works is simple, if we tell the brain something over and over again, the brain begins to accept it as a fact. For example, our students have the option to tell themselves that they are either creative or have no creativity. Pretty powerful stuff right? Keep in mind self-talk isn’t only for students, we have it too! It is important that we teach our students how to improve and manage their self-talk.
Actions to encourage positive self-talk:
- Listen to what you’re saying – the first step to creating positive self-talk is to actually hear what your inner voice is saying. I suggest you write it down and read it out loud.
- Ask yourself if what you’re saying is helping or hurting you.
- Challenge your self-talk – positive self-talk must always be performed in the personal tense, the present tense and with enthusiasm.
There are many ways that we can help teach students to manage their self-talk, whether it be starting your day off with a positive day pep rally, having students share something positive that they accomplished from the previous day or by having them share a positive affirmation.