Natasha Jordan

 How often do we as mums, look back at our mistakes and let the tone of regret flood our emotions? What if we changed that internal dialogue and attitude towards our mistakes to that of a more positive experience? What if we looked at our mistakes with light and intrigue and valued them for their lessons? This is possible and it is easy to do. Let’s look at the feelings and emotions that catalyse our negative internal dialogue that shadows our mistakes. Self-loathing is a feeling that can overcome us when we make a mistake. When we self-loath we re-inforce the internal negative dialogue, that makes us feel “not good enough”. Our internal negative dialogue is how we speak to ourselves, we need to change the tone of that dialogue if we want to start experiencing more positive experiences. Now this may seem easier said than done, you may feel you are taking the hits with not a lot of throwback. Fortunately, when you look back at all of those perceived negatives, you have succeeded at surviving and thriving through, making you the strong and resilient person you are. Now…read that last sentence and reflect on the negative tone: “taking hits with not a lot of throwback” Now…read the latter sentence which resonates a more positive tone: “you have succeeded at surviving and thriving through, making you the strong and resilient person you are.” Now sit back and read each of those sentences again and become mindful about how each sentence makes you feel. The former uses negative dialogue, the latter uses positive dialogue, this tone is mirrored in our internal dialogue; it makes us feel a certain way. The importance of this sentence lies in how easy the transition from negative to positive can be, and the impact this change in tone can have on our self-worth and our over-all feeling of wellbeing. Now we all know it’s completely normal to feel negative thoughts and you shouldn’t ever feel ashamed of this natural process, but it’s how we process those negative thoughts that moves us forward in the right direction. Processing these thoughts towards a more positive internal dialogue keeps us moving towards more positive outcomes, this is especially important for our health as it pushes us towards self-love, and when we have feelings towards self-love we make mindful, healthy decisions that push us towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle “long-term”. The Word-Switch Game For some fun, let’s play a game! This game is a great way to initiate the strategies that help reinforce a positive mindset. For one month, I want you to word switch, whenever you are having a negative feeling, stop and identify the feeling. Name and shame that feeling, I then want you to switch that word to a more positive word. I want you to repeat that positive word to yourself until you believe it. Some suggested word switches: Instead of self-loathing use the word self -love Instead of guilt use gutsy Instead of embarrassment use enlightenment Instead of disappointment use proud