Brilliantly YOU: Learning to Live Bold & Freeনমুনা

YOU are worthy of kind words.

Have you ever intentionally paid attention to your own self-talk? What do you think about yourself and say to yourself for no one else to hear but you? When you look in the mirror do you think to yourself, “Wow, I look great!” Or do you highlight the cellulite and shame yourself for not looking flawless? Do you end your work day feeling confident about the things you’ve accomplished or do you relive all the mistakes and mishaps? Do you meet someone new and tell yourself you are excited to see what may come of it or do you convince yourself that that person would never be into you? When you mess up, do you acknowledge it, receive forgiveness, and move forward? Or do you tell yourself you are awful and unworthy of love?

Even though we aren’t always speaking, we are always talking. In our thinking, we are constantly affirming who we are. Our self-talk frames our identity and shapes our perspective and attitude toward the world around us. What we think about ourselves matters, and how we choose to talk to ourselves has the power to awaken our God-given potential or sabotage our sense of worth.

Negative self-talk is toxic to your soul. Starting today, you can begin addressing and eliminating self-talk that lacks empathy and compassion for yourself. Positive self-talk doesn’t mean we ignore our shortcomings and turn a blind eye to our weaknesses. We can be honest with ourselves in our thinking, but we can also always be kind. When we begin to lovingly speak truth to ourselves, we flourish under the nourishment of our own affirmations, displaying in our actions that we understand our worth and are committed to letting the brilliance of Christ shine in us and through us. 

This is why it is so important that we continually expose ourselves to the Bible, and grow in our knowledge and understanding of what is written within its pages. By reading God’s Word, we gain a deeper understanding of what God says and thinks about us. With this knowledge of truth we become empowered by the Holy Spirit to expose negative self-talk as lies from the enemy, and only then can we renew our thinking to God’s love and will for us. 

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: What’s one negative thing you think about yourself that you are ready to replace with loving truth? Write it down. Then cross out the negative thought and underneath it, write down a Bible verse or passage that declares the loving truth of who you are. Whenever you begin to return to the old negative self-talk, visualize this exercise you just did. Then tell yourself once again the loving truth of who you really are found in God’s Word.