“Before a person can accomplish anything of an enduring nature in the world she must first of all acquire some measure of success in the management of her own mind. If a person cannot govern the forces within herself, she cannot hold a firm hand upon the outer activities that form her visible life.” — The Mastery of Destiny

Rob Bremer asks a very important question: “If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?”

How about this thought: What would you do to someone if they talked to your children the way you talk to yourself?

I am constantly amazed at what people say about themselves. I wince when I hear someone I care about say things like, “I’m so stupid” or “Sorry, I’m always late,” because I know it only reinforces a deeply held belief (whether it’s a conscious or subconscious belief). I wince even more when I catch myself saying those kind of things because I know the damage they do. As F.F. Bosworth said, “A spiritual law that few realize is that our confessions rule us. What we confess with our lips dominates our inner being.”

What are you telling yourself? What does that little man (or little woman) on your shoulder say to you? Is that who you really want to be?

In our phenomenal Conquer Fear Tele-Seminar, Lisa Jimenez taught a technique that I think has application here. For the next couple of weeks wear a rubber band on your wrist. Every time you catch yourself saying something to yourself (or about yourself) that is not in keeping with who you want to be, stop whatever you’re doing immediately. Then CONFESS the Truth about you while you’re snapping the rubber band on your wrist.

For instance, if you catch yourself saying, “I’m always late,” stop and say to yourself “I am thankful that I am becoming more conscious of the importance of being on time, and I am improving every day” (snap the rubber band). Do it several times to reinforce the affirmation.

Read the following words everyday until they are ingrained in your soul. Then you will be diligent about what you say to yourself. They’re from Napoleon Hill, writing in the classic Think and Grow Rich: “It is a well-known fact that one comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement is true or false. If a man repeats a lie over and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth.”

And that’s worth thinking about.