The Magic of Self-Talk: You Know More Than You Think

You probably talk to yourself a lot. Sure, the words might not be spoken out loud, but the noise between your ears can sometimes be deafening.

Psychologists call this habit "self-talk." It's a near-constant flow of thoughts, including observations, opinions, insights and feelings. But if our self-talk is negative or pessimistic, it can make us feel anxious, depressed, angry or fearful. Numerous studies have shown that modifying our self-talk to be more positive can lead to better mental and physical health, and to success in business and other areas of our lives — perhaps even investing!

Yet quieting the mind is no easy task. Our brains, to quote Bruce Springsteen, were "born to run." Enter meditation. Mindfulness — a form of meditation — is a hot topic today. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control in the U.S., meditation is the fastest-growing trend among complementary healthcare practices, coming in ahead of yoga and chiropractic care.

Part of the reason for the rising popularity of mindfulness meditation is the growing number of scientific studies — particularly those using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology — that are showing real and long-term positive neurological changes among people who meditate. Benefits are being seen in individuals experiencing anxiety, depression and chronic pain.

Like sports competitions, job interviews, business deals and other tasks, investing is a challenging activity that can benefit from having the right mindset. But if mindfulness is still a work in progress for you, here are a few ways to bring some "positive" to those conversations we often have with ourselves.

Mind Your Pronouns: Using the second-person pronoun "you" when talking to yourself is more effective than using the first-person, according to research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology. "You" — as in "You've got this!" — can strengthen our positive intentions before undertaking a task, as well as our performance of the task itself.

Challenge Your Self-Talk: When you find yourself making a negative statement, challenge yourself to determine if it's actually true. For example, "I never get this right" could become, in second-person pronoun, "You know a lot more than you give yourself credit for."

Pep Talk: Before tackling a challenge, tell yourself that you will succeed. A study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that positive self-talk was more effective than visualizing success.

Mind Your Ps: According to research published in Psychological Science, three types of self-talk are effective in improving task performance:

• Permanence: Optimistic, resilient people tend to see the effects of negative events as temporary.
• Pervasiveness: Resilient people don't believe that a setback will affect other areas of their lives.
• Personalization: Resilient people are less likely to blame poor performance only on themselves.

Positive Influences: As much as you can, surround yourself with habitually positive people. Their good cognitive habits can rub off.

Action Plan: Use action-oriented self-talk that guides your behaviour to what to do next instead of thinking about what emotional state or action to avoid. For example, instead of "Don't get so angry," try "It's okay, just go for a short walk."

Time Out: Taking time each day to reflect on the goals you've set for yourself will help you focus on the future rather than ruminating about the past.

Here's to finding the right mindset for you!