How to Hack Your Internal Dialogue to Completely Change Your State of Mind
Make sure you play this video before reading this post. Not only will it leave you with chills, but it’s vital to the lesson you’re about to learn.
Why did I start this training with a super nerdy reference to a Captain Picard speech?
Well…
- Because I derive a lot of my awesomeness from Captain Picard himself
- Because this is one of my favorite Picard speeches ever
- And most importantly because there is a powerful lesson in this clip – that “living is making choices”
I’ve been around quite a few people in my short life, some successful, and some not so successful (unfortunately none have been Patrick Stewart).
The one absolute constant in all of those who are happy, successful, and enjoying life is the language they choose to identify the tasks in their day.
And this isn’t limited to spoken language. It has a lot to do with your internal dialogue as well – which is incredibly power in and of itself.
Internal dialogue and the way we approach the language we use has an incredible effect on how we feel about the tasks in our daily lives.
The negative person uses language like “I HAVE TO” or “I NEED TO” while the positive person uses language like “I CHOOSE TO” or “I GET TO”
The difference between these two states of mind is the difference between grumbling, mumbling, and complaining through your day, and approaching the world with a sense of purpose, passion, and positivity.
I don’t have to tell you which person is more likely to be successful.
Try this exercise with me for a moment
Identify one thing that you’ll do in your day tomorrow, something that you may sometimes have trouble amping yourself up to do.
Now say “I HAVE TO” in front of it.
For example – “I have to write a training for my website tonight.”
Do you see how that comes off? Without even seeing me, it just sounds completely negative, like it’s something that I don’t want to do. You get an image in your head of a grumpy Cody sitting down banging on his keyboard trying mercilessly to finish a horrible chore.
Now replace “I HAVE TO” with “I CHOOSE TO” or “I GET TO”
For example – “I get to write a training for my website tonight.”
See the difference? See how positive that feels when you read it?
Cody is no longer banging on his keyboard. He is focused, typing freely, and the words flow like the water of Niagara.
What your internal language does to you
You have the EXACT same feelings in yourself when your internal dialogue approaches your day with an “I HAVE TO” type of mindset.
But you can change it with a simple adjustment in the way you think and speak.
Change your mindset to one of choice, not force.
You’ll begin to see the fun, the positivity, and the beauty in the things that you do.
A few random examples:
Your trip to the gym
Rather than this being a chore that you HAVE to drag yourself to and get your butt kicked, it becomes a choice to enhance your health, to physically challenge yourself, to protect your body, to increase your physical and cognitive abilities and to build a better version of yourself.
Cleaning up your landscaping
Rather than this being a stack of endless outdoor chores that you HAVE to do, it becomes a choice to beautify where you spend every day of your life, a chance to spend some time alone to think, a workout that will leave you full of active endorphins, and a shrine that you created that you can continuously take pride in.
Making a healthy dinner
Rather than this being part of a diet that you HAVE to follow, it becomes a choice to fuel your body with nutrient rich foods that will keep you lean, increase your physical and mental abilities, allow you to sleep and recover better, and balance your energy levels throughout the day.
Writing 1,500 words
Rather than this being a struggle with writer’s block that you MUST conquer, it becomes a choice to express yourself through your written words, a free-flowing sequence of ideas that you get to share with the world, a way you can help others improve and enhance their own lives, and your creation of part of something that will exist in the world forever.
My point here is that everything you do is a choice. Our days are full of them. Living is making choices.
Recognize the positives in your choices.
When you approach your day with the idea that you CHOOSE to do the things you do, something awesome happens.
- You begin to realize the positives of the choices in your life rather than what they are costing you.
- You instantly become a happier person.
- You smile more.
- You love more.
- You think more.
- You create more.
And all of that positivity manifests itself into a magnetism and charisma that can be a catalyst to a mountain of opportunities and development for yourself in virtually every… single… aspect… of your life.
And when your future hasn’t been written yet, this kind of profound effect can make a really big difference to the rest of it.
