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“I can’t talk my way out of a problem that I behaved myself into.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2017-03-07) from his book, No Limits: Blow the CAP Off Your Capacity (p. 242). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

What does John mean by this thought?  Let me give you some background leading up to this thought.

John says, “Positive self-talk is one of the most important tools I have to keep my attitude positive. When something goes wrong, I say something like this: ‘Wow! That didn’t go the way I expected. Okay. That’s not what I wanted, but I can get through this. I win more often than I lose, but no one goes undefeated. Now, what can I learn from what I just experienced? What do I need to change? Is there someone who can help me? Because of this, I’ll become better, but I won’t become bitter. This too shall pass.’”

He goes on, “My self-talk sometimes continues up to twenty-four hours after a failure or defeat. During that time, I want to process through any negative emotional baggage and put it behind me. That’s important because whatever you can’t release possesses you. I also want to articulate what I am learning from it and the changes I need to make to become better. Finally, I identify the behavior I will need to exhibit to bring me out of my problem because I’ve learned that I can’t talk my way out of a problem that I behaved myself into.”


So what behavior caused the problem and will you change it?
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