Be Intentional and Aware of Your Self-Talk

Henry Lescault

Not being intentional and aware of your language or self-talk is one of the major challenges to making lasting behavioral changes.

You wake up on Saturday morning thinking “Oh crap (I’m being nice here), I HAVE TO go to the gym.” In reality folks, you don’t HAVE TO do anything. It all comes down to a choice.

Unless someone ties you up, throws you in the trunk of a car, and forcibly takes you to the gym, the act of going to the gym (or doing anything for that matter) is a choice you either make or CHOOSE not to make.

We call this using Proactive versus Reactive language. Proactive language is the language of potential and possibilities, while Reactive Language, or road-block language is the language of limits, impossibilities, and hopelessness.

Some clues to our current unproductive paradigms around exercise could be words like, it’s painful, it’s hard, it’s expensive, I don’t have enough time etc. However, we can reframe our self-talk and have a profound effect on our paradigms by catching ourselves when we use reactive language.

The solution is to watch your language.

As opposed to thinking or saying, “I have to”… correct yourself by thinking or saying, “I choose to” or “I get to”. Choose phrases like “I’m going to have a great workout today.” “I’m going to give 100% of myself to my workout today and every day.” “I’m prepared and motivated to do what I must to make this project a success.”

Don’t make the common mistake of letting the simplicity of this technique be indicative of its enormous power to change your Paradigms and your life.

To make lasting behavioral changes and to truly make your resolutions stick, you must:

Learn more about the timeless principles in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by registering for a complimentary webcast.

About the Author

Henry Lescault is honored to be a behavioral change expert (Coach and Facilitator) for FranklinCovey. Henry has over 30 years of experience studying and working with human behavior as a professional law enforcement officer, trainer and facilitator, counselor, workplace conflict mediator and professional coach. He has a bachelor's degree in sociology, and a master's degree in executive coaching from Queens University's McColl School of Business, a leadership coaching and facilitation certification from Georgetown University, and is certified to administer a variety of different assessments including the Clifton Strengths Finder, MBTI and FIRO-B, as well as the EQ-i 2.0 for Emotional and Social Intelligence. In 2011, he published a book on presentation skills and personal presence entitled, Present with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz.
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