“It may be helpful to give your toxic self-talk a name…”

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life (p.36). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Norman finishes the thought and then moves on.  He says, “It may be helpful to give your toxic self-talk a name, and then use that name when you recognize those thoughts. You might call them Pollution Words, Hopeless Words, The Critic, The Enemy, Satan’s Agent, The Liar. When we use a label like one of these, it helps us see these thoughts as occasional visitors, rather than permanent residents. It helps us remember that these visiting enemies don’t represent who we really are.

“Consider what Peter McWilliams writes in You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought:

“For many, negative thinking is a habit, which, over time, becomes an addiction. It’s a disease, like alcoholism, compulsive overeating, or drug abuse.

“A lot of people suffer from this disease because negative thinking is addictive to each of The Big Three—the mind, the body, and the emotions. If one doesn’t get you, the others are waiting in the wings.

“The mind becomes addicted to being ‘right.’ In this far-less-than-perfect world, one of the easiest ways to be right is to predict failure—especially for ourselves. The mind likes being right. When asked, ‘Would you rather be right or be happy?’ some people—who really take the time to consider the ramifications of being ‘wrong’—have trouble deciding.

“The body becomes addicted to the rush of chemicals poured into the bloodstream by the Fight or Flight Response. Some people can’t resist the physical stimulation of a serious session of negative thinking. They get off on the rush of adrenalin.

“The emotions become addicted to the sheer intensity of it all. The Fight or Flight Response may not trigger pleasant feelings, but at least they’re not boring. As the emotions become accustomed to a higher level of stimulation, they begin demanding more and more intensity. It’s not unlike the slash-and-gash movies—too much is no longer enough.”

This is very good information in helping us see the effect of negative thinking and how to counteract it, isn’t it?

Yes, yes!