By now we’ve all heard that talking to yourself might just be the first sign of insanity. True or not, self-talk is sort of different and we all do it with or without realising it.

Self-talk needn’t be done out loud and more often than not includes un-voiced opinions about yourself and your life. Self-talk greatly impacts your self-esteem and how you feel; negatively or positively, depending on the type of self-talk.1. Listen to what you’re saying: Is it good or bad? How often is it bad?2. Monitor your self-talk: Are you being truthful? Are you being fair to yourself? Would you say anything like that to a friend or loved one? Is there a way to be more positive?3. Change your self-talk: Choose words of affirmation daily. Counter your negative thoughts with more positive ones. Cut yourself some slack.

An example of negative self-talk is: “I’m so ugly”

An example of positive self-talk is: “This test looks hard but I think I can do it”

If you realise your self-talk tends to be more negative than positive all is not lost, you can take a few steps to turn that around.

It won’t necessarily be easy but it’ll do you a world of good. Now that you know about self-talk, you can make sure yours is more positive.