Thought for the Day: I had a very busy day Wednesday which began by helping out at a bank following a robbery. Whenever I can, I go to companies after critical incidents, but it often turns my schedule upside down for a few days! Two full days working with clients left no room for writing and posting. Therefore, today I'm trying to catch up and share the third set of results from the mini-research project based on your 2 word notes to your younger selves. This series of posts is leading to some very interesting questions. How and when did you learn to trust yourself?
There has been a great deal of interest in the results of this research project. It has certainly provided food for thought. I called the group of responses that I want to talk about today "Mind Gamers." I must admit that I chose it thinking that the name would get your attention. Usually mind games have negative connotations. In this case, there is nothing negative about these responses. These “mind games” have an extremely positive impact on those who use this approach to reach out to their younger selves. It was therefore really important to hear about when the members of this group acquired this knowledge and what prompted to offer this advice to their younger selves. Unfortunately, only a few subjects told their stories.
When we are confronted with adversity, what we say to ourselves makes a big difference in how we handle the situation. Our thoughts impact how we perceive and cope with the challenge. Positive psychology research has shown that truly the saying ,"Mind over matter" is true. Since as I reported in an earlier post, negative thoughts lead to depression (Which Comes First Depression or Low Self Esteem?), positive thoughts are important for our mental health and well being. The “mind gamers” were by far, the largest group in this study one third of the respondents chose positive self talk as what they would say to themselves. This may have been due to the large number of therapists who responded to this survey on a LinkedIn group for psychologists and other therapists. Close to half of the therapists chose positive self comments for their two word advice. Here's the kinds of things they said to their young selves and why...
