Changing Negative Self-Talk

Changing Negative Self-Talk Written by Rachel Moreland “You can’t do this.” “You’re not smart enough.” “You are going to fail.” I recently discovered that I’m a terrible self-encourager. Although I’m a big fan of championing healthy, positive self-talk...when it comes to speaking encouragement to myself? Turns out, I need all the help I can get. Recently, I felt God challenge me in this aspect of my life as I was preparing to meet a PhD deadline. Instead of trusting that I was equipped to rise to the challenge set before me, I got swept away in some very unhelpful negative self-talk. Before I knew it, I was rewriting my hopeful story into one filled with fear and looming dread. “Who told you that you were not good enough?” I instantly recognized my Heavenly Father’s gentle challenge. Who told you? Instead of believing the truth of who God says I am (that I am a beloved daughter of Christ), I was listening to the lies of my greatest fears. There are many conflicting voices in our world today trying to tell us who we are, how to live, and what to value. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves in a place where we are tuning out the voice of truth and dialing up the volume on shame, anxiety, and fear. But Scripture tells us that the peace of God can guard our hearts and our minds (Phil 4:7).