Express Yourself

I don’t know what you may have been told or what you may have been telling yourself, but the truth is this: you were wondrously and marvelously made. And that means you have wonderful and marvelous things to say. The beauty of life is that when we speak from our hearts or that place inside of us that is authentic and true, the world will want to listen to what we have to say. As you write in your journal, allow your authentic self to respond to the following questions.

20 Express Yourself Questions…
(Ask them now or forever hold your peace!)

How to Stop Talking Yourself Out of Winning

Do you express yourself by talking yourself out of doing the things that you know will allow you to reach your weight loss and personal wellness goals? For example, have you ever gone to bed and told yourself that you were going to get up early and exercise the next day and then when the alarm goes off you lie in bed and allow the little voice in your head to talk you out of getting up? It might say something like “You don’t need to exercise, you exercised yesterday,” or “Exercising isn’t going to do you any good. Do you know how much you would have to exercise to lose the weight you need to lose?” The longer you listen to this garbage, the more paralyzed you become because it drains your energy—and energy is what you need to get up and do what you said you were going to do.

Here are a few things you can do to squelch that negative inner voice:

Tell It to Stop: The minute your negative voice rears its ugly head, clap your hands and yell the word “Stop!” And then start telling yourself how great you are. Talk aloud—yell at the top of your lungs, if necessary! Do whatever it takes, but don’t let the voice win.

Catch It In a Lie: The little voice in your head that keeps you from expressing who you really are or from moving toward your goals is a liar. The only reason you believe what it has to say is because you have been listening to it for so long. Make a list of examples of what you have told yourself “you can’t do” that you actually ended up doing. In other words, prove to yourself that the voice is a liar.

Name It and Tame It: Give the little voice inside your head a name. I sometimes call the little voice inside my head “Rapunzel.” I chose that name because it’s kind of hard to be bullied by someone named “Rapunzel.” Giving it a name is a way that I create separation between who I am and the voice inside my head.

Call for Help: Pick-up the telephone, call someone you care about and tell her everything that your little voice has been “telling you.” Then, ask her to tell you why what you have been saying to yourself isn’t true.

Six-Minute Memoir – A memoir is a biographical sketch or personal account that focuses on the persons, events or times known to the writer. Spend six minutes writing a short account about a person or event that played a pivotal role in shaping who you are.

Metaphor of Me -- Create a metaphor that fully expresses the essence of who you are. Here are a few examples:

• I am the light that helps people find their way.
• I am the calm at the center of a storm.
• I am the green light that signals people that it’s time to get going.

Visually Express Who You Are
Use a blank sheet of paper to create a self-portrait. You can cut words and pictures from old magazines and books and paste them to this page or you can use markers and crayons to draw and doodle. As you create the self-portrait focus on your most winning self, the person you want to become or are in the process of becoming.