Self Talk… Does it Work?

By Marty Callahan We’ve been talking about goal setting recently and how Self Talk or, what you say to yourself, is a key element. It’s well known that people who set goals do better in life than people who don’t. People who write their goals down, put a date to them and tell others, do better than people who don’t. But does Self Talk really work or is it just psychobabble? I read an article in late March in the New York Times by reporters Michael S. Schmidt and Mark Mazzetti. They reported that Secretary of State John Kerry had traveled to Brussels to demonstrate the United States’ support for Belgium three days after bombings there by Islamic terrorists. Here’s want he said directly addressing Islamic State militants who also struck Paris, Ankara, Turkey, Tunis; and San Bernardino, California; and elsewhere. “We will not be intimidated, we will not be deterred. We will come back with greater resolve, with greater strength, and we will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs and cowardice from the face of this earth.” Pretty strong language, if you ask me, and a great lesson in Self Talk. What if we re-write this slightly and teach your child to say: “I will not be intimidated. I will not be deterred. If I fail I will come back with greater resolve, with greater strength, and I will not rest until I have eliminated all the obstacles that hold me back and keep me from achieving my goals.” If our Secretary of State can use this Self Talk to send a strong message to our enemies couldn’t your child learn to do the same with the things that hold him back? Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you. Marty Callahan