A wise man once said, " We are snared by the words of our mouth." How true this is. The very words that we speak will determine who we are. I believe the key to being positive all begins with what we think of ourselves. If we have a positive outlook on ourselves then we will be more prepared to have a positive outlook on everything life brings. Therefore we must not have a habit of saying negative words that follow "I am". For example,

I am an idiot
I am ugly
I am fat
I am a dork
I am useless
I am a failure
I am lazy
I am tired
I am shy
I am intimidated
I am no good..

When we follow "I am" with these negative words, it will only lead us to be self-conscious, which is to be excessively and uncomfortably conscious of our appearance or behavior. We are not only beating ourselves up anymore, but we are also letting others beat us up without them having to say or do anything. For instance, when we think we are ugly, then we begin to believe that everyone we come in contact with thinks we are ugly too.

Following the "I am" negatives is the one and only "I can't". When we are self-conscious then we have no confidence in ourselves to bring us through life's journeys. This is where the "I can't" comes into the picture. For example, "I am a failure, I can't do anything right", or "I am stupid, I can't make good grades." Rather we could say, "I have made mistakes, but I will learn from them and try again", or "I am lacking in school so I will study harder." It is all up to us. We are the ones in control and will determine what kind of person we are. Life is too good to be trapped in a cloud of negativity.

Negativity can be as addicting as smoking cigarettes. Once you say one negative word another one follows and continues on like the Energizing Bunny'. It can easily be compared to the story in the Bible about the two men who built their homes. The one built his foundation upon a rock(positive), while the other built his upon the sand(negative). When the storms came the house on the rock stood, where as the house on the sand fell. It is the same with us today. If we build ourselves up with negative self talk, then when the storms of life come we will respond with a negative attitude and fall. Let us rather build ourselves up with positive self talk, and be prepared for what life may bring. Sure, we all have those things in our life that we don't like. It is all part of human nature. The key is to use them to motivate us to change, rather than allowing them to tear us down.

Kristen Faith

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