The Hidden Step
www.necouncil.org/the
hidden
step
STEP ONE
ignite your inner fre
ingredient three - belief
Exercise #5
REWORD YOUR INNER DIALOGUE
When we think, we create an automatic inner dialogue. You are always talking to
yourself. We talk more to ourselves in one day than we talk to people around us
in one week. Experts refer to this as your Silent Self Talk. Words you use to de-
scribe yourself and your surroundings infuence thoughts you hold. The quality of
your life is always in sync with the quality of your inner dialogue.
The objective of the following exercise is to reword the way we habitually speak
to ourselves and people around us to empower our inner dialogue and conse-
quently our thoughts.
Instructions:
For the next ten days, become aware of the words you use to com-
municate to yourself or surroundings. For example if in a situation you get irritat-
ed and you fnd yourself using the words “I am angry” to describe your emotions,
de-intensify it by replacing it with “I am concerned.” Remember that the more in-
tense the words, the more intense the images created, and consequently emotions
felt. When you say “I am angry,” you envision what an angry person looks like
and emulate the image you know to be true of an angry person. When you lower
the intensity of the words and therefore the images created, your reactions to your
surroundings will change too.
Become aware of words you use to describe your emotions
I am frustrated
Change it to
I am fascinated
That is terrible
Change it to
It is different
I am devastated
Change it to
I am mildly annoyed
I am mad
Change it to
I am peeved
I am overwhelmed
Change it to
I am in demand
I am irritated
Change it to
I am disenchanted
I am rejected
Change it to
I was misunderstood
I failed
Change it to
I learned something
I am so tired today
Change it to
I was so effective today
I am lost
Change it to
I am searching
I feel depressed
Change it to
Thinking my possibilities
A3