Me and I…

Last updated on June 23, 2015

A man observed a woman in the grocery store with a 3-year-old girl in her basket. As they passed the cookie section, the little girl asked for cookies and her mother told her no. The little girl immediately began to whine and fuss.

The mother said quietly, “Now Monica, we just have half of the aisles left to go through; don’t be upset. It won’t be long.”

Soon they came to the candy aisle, and the little girl began to shout for candy. And when told she couldn’t have any, began to cry.

The mother said, “There, there, Monica, only two more aisles to go, and then we’ll be checking out.”

When they got to the checkout stand, the little girl immediately began to clamor for gum and burst into a terrible tantrum upon discovering there would be no gum purchased.

The mother patiently said, “Monica, we’ll be through this checkout stand in five minutes and then you can go home and have a nice nap.”

The man followed them out to the parking lot and stopped the woman to compliment her.

“I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Monica,” he said.

The mother replied, “I’m Monica. My little girl’s name is Tammy.”

Self-talk is such a powerful tool and the way we use it reflects our outlook on life. Is our glass half-full or half-empty?

I admit it, I talk to myself, I always have and always will.

It started early on, when I was a young child. One of the places that scared me most was our basement, it was cold and dark and I didn’t like to go down there. I never talked about my fear, it was my secret. A lot of our vegetables and fruits were stored in the cold basement and I was sent down there quiet often, it was part of my chores. I never said I wouldn’t go, I opened the door and encouraged myself “I am going to be fine” and went down the stairs.

My self-talk continued  when I was active in sport, I whispered “I can do this” right before a start; I got all pumped up and all of a sudden I was ready to win.

Self-talk is what happens when you make yourself the target of your own comments, advice or reminders. Experts consider it a subset of thinking. You’re having a conversation with yourself.

We stimulate and direct our actions, says Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, assocciate Professor at the University of Thessaly in Trikala, Greece.

I made jokes about my invisible friend “Smokey” and even posted about him a few times. This annoying little creature, who tried to make me smoke again. He got loud when I gave up cigarettes; he yelled in my ear “smoke, smoke, smoke” and never shut up.

I pictured him sitting there trying to manipulate me and I turned my head and said “NO” out loud. It made me laugh and calmed me down, I felt in charge.

The simple word “NO” outspoken loud made all the difference and most importantly, it shut “Smokey” up 🙂