It is sometimes said that as humans we think too much. Often this thinking is self-talk – a dialogue that we have with ourselves about the past or about the future. Dr. Phil McGraw calls these “tapes” because we replay and loop the same thoughts and words through our head focusing on negative aspects. Many of these tapes or scripts focus on the past and are thoughts about failings and shortcomings. Many others focus on the future and are thoughts and obsessions about what is yet to come or about waiting for “the other shoe to fall.” Still many others are general thoughts of self-denigration and are about our sense of worth. Whatever it might be, this self talk takes us out of the present and has us worrying about things that we cannot change, that we have no control over, or that are not grounded in truth.
What is your self-talk? Do you fill your mind with thoughts about lack, failure, and your own perceived worthlessness? Do you relive the past wishing you could have done something differently? Do you think about the endless possibilities of the future worrying about what has yet to come?
How does your self-talk pull you out of the present and cause worry or anxiety? Reflect on the tapes that you have looping through your thoughts.