Self-Talk: The Power of Words

The effect that words have on our behavior, and on the results that we create in our lives.

Table of Contents:

1. Baby Steps
2. Feature Article: SELF TALK: THE POWER OF WORDS
3. Quotes
4. Recommended Resources: Positive Thinking
5. Self-Care
6. Final Thoughts: Thinking

============================================

1. Baby Steps

One of the most powerful forces affecting the quality of our lives
is the words we use. What words are you using habitually, and
what effect are they having on your life?

============================================

2. Feature Article: SELF TALK: THE POWER OF WORDS

I was in Kansas City last weekend, and two experiences there caused
me to think about the incredible power of words that we use habitually
in our lives, and about the effect that those words have on our
behavior and on the results that we create in our lives.

I played golf Saturday morning, and my brother-in-law and I played
with two people we didn't know. As we introduced ourselves, one
guy (we'll call him Steve) said, "I'm a novice golfer. I'm just out
here for the practice." As we played, Steve made several disparaging
remarks about his level of golf skill. After hitting one good shot, he
stated, "Wow, that's not like me at all."

What effect might more positive language have on his golf score?
Now, this was not Tiger Woods, and Steve will never play on the
PGA Tour. And I'm not suggesting that how he describes his game
will make him a scratch golfer. But, as Earl Nightingale says, "We
become what we think about most of the time." As long as Steve tells
himself that he is a novice, he will be. And if he had been thinking
"I hit my approach shots over the water, and onto the green" instead
of "Whatever you do, don't hit the ball in the water," then his ball
would have had a much better chance of clearing the water, and
landing on the green.

The second experience occurred as I boarded the plane to go home.
I walked past the first five rows of seats-the first class section. As
I made my way back to the coach section, I wondered about those
people up in first class. I thought about what they did to achieve the
success in life that allowed them to sit in first class. I was implying
that somehow these people were "first class," and that every else
was "second class."

This thought lasted just a fraction of a second. Intellectually, I know
that some people in first class earned their tickets with frequent flyer
miles, and one or two may have been moved up to first class if the
flight was full, and that a couple didn't pay for their own tickets. But
how many people are going through life thinking of themselves as
second class? And how many people are limiting their potential to
be anything greater than that, because of the way the talk and think
about themselves?

The words that you use in your life are either empowering you, or
disempowering you. This is subtle, and you may not even realize it.
For example, when someone greets you in the morning, and asks
how you're doing, do you respond "Not bad," or "I'm surviving,"
or something to that effect? What if you replied, "I'm outstanding,
and I'm getting better and better," and you said it will conviction
and belief?

This might seem silly to you, and you might dismiss it as having no
impact whatsoever on the results you create in your life. But, please,
trust me on this one. One of the first steps in creating greater success
in your life is to alter the way you think about yourself, and the words
that you use to describe yourself. Our natural tendency is to want
those results to first be created, and then we'll start talking and thinking
differently. I request that you begin thinking and talking differently,
as doing so will cause your desired results to occur.

There's a classic story often told about three bricklayers, and the
attitudes they had toward their jobs. When asked, "What are you
doing?" the first one responded, "Laying brick." The second replied,
"Making $17.50 an hour." The third bricklayer said, "I'm building
the world's greatest cathedral!"

Although we don't know for sure what happened to those bricklayers,
I'm guessing that the third bricklayer did not remain a bricklayer.
While the first two were simply performing their jobs, the vision of
the third surely had a favorable effect on his future success. Each of
them used words to describe their work, and these words became the
basis for what they thought about that work, and ultimately for what
they thought about themselves.

How about you? Are you laying bricks, or building a great cathedral?
What words are you using habitually, and what effect are they having
on your life?

============================================

3. Quotes

People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking
that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they
have the first secret of success.
Norman Vincent Peale

There is no calamity that right words will not begin to redress.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your mind creates your reality. You can choose to accept this or
not. You can choose to be conscious of it and set your mind working
for you, or you can ignore it and allow it to work in ways that will
hinder and hold you back. But your mind will always and forever be
creating your reality.
John Kehoe

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, THINK BIG.
Donald Trump

============================================

4. Recommended Resources: Positive Thinking

Think and Grow Rich
by Napolean Hill

This is one of the classics of personal development literature,
and is a "must read" if you are serious about achieving your
goals.
To order tape set, click here
To order book, click here

The Power of Positive Thinking
by Norman Vincent Peale

A classic guide to self-esteem and success! Read it, then read it again.
To order book, click here

See You at the Top
by Zig Ziglar

Climb the stairway to personal success with Zig Ziglar, one of
America's best motivational speakers.
To order book, click here

Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude
by Napolean Hill and W. Clement Stone

This is a must-have for you personal development library, written
by two pioneers in the area of personal development.
To order book, click here

============================================

5. Self-Care

What appliance in your house has been called "an addictive device
which keeps the lower classes subdued, a perpetrator of violence and
materialism, a silent destroyer of intellectualism and the biggest
roadblock to 20th century longevity?" Television. The following
statistics reveal cause for concern about the effect that this passive
form of entertainment is having on our families, and on society:

- "By the time most Americans are 18 years old, they have spent more
time in front of the television set than they have spent in school, and
far more than they have spent talking with their teachers, their friends
or even their parents." Quote from Abandoned in the Wasteland:
Children, Television and the First Amendment, by Newton Minnow,
former Chairman of the FCC, and Craig LaMay, 1995.

- By the time today's child reaches age 70, he or she will have spent
approximately seven years watching TV. Source: American Academy
of Pediatrics study, 1990.

- 30% of middle-aged men (median age in the study was 39.5) watch
TV 3 or more hours per day, while another 61% watch TV 1-2 hours
per day. Source: 1989 study by Larry Tucker at Brigham Young
University.

- There is a direct correlation between the amount of time a child
spends watching TV and their scores on standardized achievement
tests--the more TV watched, the lower the scores. Source: 1980
study by the California Department of Education which studied the
TV habits and test scores of half a million children.

- The typical American child will witness 8,000 murders and 100,000
acts of televised violence in his lifetime. Source: American
Psychological Association.

- "Living with television means growing up in a world of about 22,000
commercials a year, 5,000 of them for food products, more than half
of which are for low-nutrition sweets and snacks." Quote by Dr.
George Gerbner, Dean of the Annenburg School of Communications
at the University of Pennsylvania.

- Men who watch television 3 or more hours a day are twice as likely
to be obese than men who watch for less than an hour. Source: 1989
study by Larry Tucker at Brigham Young University.

As a society, we are addicted to television. It's entertaining, it helps
is to keep abreast of the "news" and it gives us the opportunity to see
sporting events that we are not able to attend. And we might even
learn something, if we are watching PBS or Discovery. But what we
don't seem to "get" is the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle)
psychological, social, academic, violent, economic and physical
impact that television is creating in our lives.

What's one of the fastest ways to change your life? Watch less
television, and devote that time to other, more productive activities.
What if you read one hour per day in a chosen field? That would
equate to about one book per week, or 52 books per year. If you read
52 books per year in your field, you would become an expert in
that field.

What if you read just 30 minutes per day, and exercised for 30
minutes? Or listened to audio cassette programs on personal
development? Or invested that time with your spouse or children?
Or invested your time with a non-profit organization? Or studied
personal finance or investment strategy? Or started a hobby?

Turn off your television, and invest that time in yourself. The
difference that this change will make in your life, and in the lives
of those around you, will be amazing!

============================================

6. Final Thoughts: Thinking

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but you think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out of the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will -
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise;
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battle doesn't always go
To stronger or faster men;
But sooner or later the man who wins,
Is the one who thinks he can.

Walter D. Wintle

============================================

Thank you for reading the LifeExcellence Newsletter. Be
EXTRAORDINARY this week!
- Brian Bartes

Are you ready to take action toward the achievement of your
goals? What if you had someone to support, motivate, challenge
and encourage you as you play at a new level?
Call our office at 734-254-9970, or e-mail us at
coaching@LifeExcellence.com to set up a free coaching
consultation.

For more information on coaching, please visit our website at
http://www.lifeexcellence.com/.
_____________________

BACK ISSUES are archived at
http://letters.webvalence.com/sites/LifeExcellence/.
_____________________

For your free subscription, please send an e-mail to:
LifeExcellence-On@letters.webvalence.com

To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to:
LifeExcellence-Off@letters.webvalence.com
_____________________

Privacy Statement

We keep your e-mail address strictly confidential, and do not
share it with anyone for any reason. We do not sell, rent or
otherwise make available our subscriber list to any third party.
We want you to know that we respect and honor your privacy!
_____________________

Copyright / Contact Info

The contents of this newsletter may be copied, reproduced or
freely distributed without the consent of the author as long as
the author's name and contact information are included, and
unless expressly prohibited at the end of an article.

Example of proper attribution:
Reproduced with permission from the LifeExcellence
Newsletter. Subscribe at http://www.lifeexcellence.com/
or send an e-mail to: LifeExcellence-On@letters.webvalence.com
_____________________

All contents Copyright 2002, LifeExcellence, L.L.C. except
where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide.
Duplication or reprints only with express permission or
approved credits (as described above).

For more information, contact:

LifeExcellence, L.L.C.
P.O. Box 700424
Plymouth, MI 48170-0947
Telephone: 734-254-9970
Fax: 734-254-9973
Or visit our website at http://www.lifeexcellence.com/