What are your Inner Voices telling you?

I met a young man once in India who taught me a valuable lesson. He was the driver assigned to me by an industrial company to take me to their various factories in the country. We spent a lot of time together in the car, passing time with idle chatter that soon led to discussions about his life and his family. Vasu was poorer than the poorest, at least by my standards, yet he carried himself like a man of great wealth, who had not a worry in the world. I pried to get more information and quite accidentally he divulged his secret: his name, Vasu, means “wealth” in Sanskrit. Vasu’s Inner Voices were telling him that he was blessed with wealth, and hence he was not bothered by the holes in his shoes. He saw abundance in what little he had, and did not focus on what he lacked. He was a very wise young man…

The image that you have of yourself is what shapes your destiny. Nothing else matters. For decades I had an image of myself that held me back from achieving personal and professional fulfillment in spite of significant successes in business. My Inner Voices (greatly influenced by my SCRIPT) were telling me that I could never achieve great things – and I believed them. I second-guessed myself every step of the way. The reversal of my fortunes came when I started to change the way I thought about myself.

How do you judge yourself? Have you ever asked yourself “what did I do that for?” or “what was I thinking?” Have you ever internally chastised yourself for “being so stupid”, for “acting like an idiot”? Such words serve no purpose – they only tear you down, make you feel unworthy and destroy your self esteem.

Think positive words. Train yourself to reject every negative thought that comes into your mind. Never, ever voice a negative thought about yourself, not even in jest! Every time you say something – positive or negative – it reinforces your belief in whatever you expressed: if you say “I’ll never get rid of those extra 10 lbs” – guess what, you won’t, until you train your Inner Voice to say: “I’m fabulous, and those extra 10 lbs will come off in a jiffy!”

Start challenging your Inner Voices now. See Chapter 7 of my book “Seven Steps to Personal Fulfillment” for exercises you can do to help you in this process.