You Are Enough!

Dec 20, 2021

 by Hannah Bouldin

The other day at the studio there was a small group of women, myself included, talking about negative self-talk. We all admitted to doing it.

I asked if any of us would talk to someone else the same way we are talking to ourselves. Of course, we all said that we would never talk to anyone else like that. So why do we allow this behavior? Why are we so self-critical? Unfortunately we live in a society where being thin, tan, etc is a look that is perceived as how we "should" be.

Each and every one of us is unique (unless you have an identical twin). For example, it would be virtually impossible for me to have Jennifer Garner's arms - she's only got 2 arms and I'm fairly certain she doesn't want to part with either of them.

What if instead of wasting so much energy on trying to be someone we are not, we started to work towards liking who we are today? What does that look like for you?

Part of this process includes trying to stop the negative self-talk. If your inner critic is anything like mine, that isn't going to be an easy task. You know what? That's okay! Recognize that this will be an ongoing exercise, one that will get easier over time, as the more you interrupt and discredit your inner critic, the less power it has.

One of the women that was part of our conversation mentioned that her inner critic spoke up when she looked at herself in the mirror. Another woman said that hers spoke up when she saw a picture of herself on Facebook. Whatever the trigger is for your inner critic to try to run the show, you can often use the same methods to shut it down or ignore it as the very least.

Instead of getting pulled into that spiral of negativity, try to acknowledge the negative self-talk and try responding (out loud, if you want,) "Not today - I will not engage with you today!" If it helps to put a sign up on your mirror, dashboard, kitchen cabinet, desk, etc, do that! The sign can say something like the aforementioned or maybe a "Stop" sign that signals you to intervene and shut down the critic. The key is to find and use what will work for you.

The more we allow ourselves to get drug into the spiral of negativity, the worse we feel about ourselves. We may feel as if we did something wrong and that we now must be punished. My challenge to you is to talk to yourself the same way that you talk to a loved one. This takes a lot of practice and please understand that there is no right or wrong way to do this.

My wish for you is that you always remember that you are enough. #selfcare #positiveselftalk #YOUareworthy #YOUareimportant #YOUMATTER