Your brain is like a water fountain. It keeps flowing with whatever you put in it until it blocks up with gunk. It is full of sub-conscious messages you are sending yourself, whether they are good or bad. Identifying whether these messages are helpful or not is your first step. Your second it choosing what to do with them, followed by the third step of purposefully sending yourself specific messages.

But wait, you say. I don’t send myself any messages. Wrong, I say. You are doing it even as you read this. Let me explain how …

Learning About the Messages You Are Sending Yourself

Your brain is a mighty clever piece of real estate. It can give every single part of your body a message, from that chair is too hard to I’ve got a headache. By using neurones or connecting ‘wires’ in your nervous system, it sends an electrical message to and from your body parts and your brain. These electrical messages then tell your body to do something.

But that is not the only type of message our brains can send. There’s the other kind which is more personal. The, I am a crappy business owner, I can never manage my money well or the I might as well give up now, messages too. True, these messages are often negative, but they can also be positive. I’m excellent at managing my time, I get things finished before they are due and I’m doing well are other messages you are deliberately sending yourself. The problem is, these positive messages are far rarer than the negative ones.

Simple, you say. I’ll just stop sending myself negative messages. Ah, if only it was that easy.

Controlling the Messages You Send Yourself

Self-criticism is a fact of life. It happens even without you trying. We are continually bombarded by messages from the media, family, friends and busy bodies about what we should be doing, feeling, saying and looking like anyway. So, it is like our brains are hardwired to create more of the same automatically. But what you can do is kick it in the butt as soon as you notice it. Don’t beat yourself up, the messages are going to come. You don’t need to believe all the negative messages you are sending yourself, though!

Here’s how you begin to control the messages you send yourself:

• Acknowledge negative messages them but don’t accept them. By acknowledging they are there, you are telling your brain thanks, I’ve got that message. It then stops trying to send it to you repeatedly. By not accepting it, you are not taking on board those negative messages.
• Make a list of the positive things you are doing both personally and in business each day. You are doing great stuff, but it is all too easy to ignore it and focus on the bad.
• Create some positive affirmations. Sentences like, I’ve got this, I am a fabulous business owner and I can achieve my goals, are good ones to start with. Repeat these aloud to yourself several times a day!
• Accept compliments. Our NZ culture tells us not to be a tall poppy. We all too often dismiss the great stuff people say about us. When someone says something nice to you, accept it and believe it.
• Give yourself compliments. When those negative thoughts come, acknowledge them and in return counterbalance them. If your brain tells you that you will never get an order finished on time, tell it, yes you will and this is how I am going to do it. Tell yourself how fabulously you handled that difficult customer instead of focusing on how much they peed you off.

Remember, the many messages you are sending yourself are automatic, but you are still the boss. You can choose to believe them or dismiss them. You can also send yourself messages which help you achieve your goals and be the person you want to be.

Tell me, what messages has your brain been sending you lately? Let me know below and together we’ll see about making them help rather than hinder you!