How have you been talking to yourself lately? Would you say the same thing to your family that you say to yourself? When you say something like, “I’m not good at X, so I won’t try,” you are expressing negative self-talk. Sometimes, a little negative speak stops you from making an unwise or unsafe decision. Most of the time, the critical voice in your head prevents you from reaching the success you desire.

How Negative Self-Talk Holds You Back  💬

Negative self-talk prevents you from seeing opportunities. It increases your stress and may affect your behavior. It may also manifest itself in these ways:

Success is a rollercoaster filled with hills and dips. You sit in the front car, put on your safety belt, and let the brake release send you down the track. The first hill is always the one full of anticipation. It’s the highest one and propels you toward the rest of the ride, where you will encounter super-fast speeds mixed with some slow spots. Notice that while it was fun, it was less than perfect. The cars shook your bones, and you may have felt like you had whiplash. But you had fun! Success does that too. Its twists and turns, hills and valleys, leave you breathless and ready for more unless you let perfectionism stall you at the gate.

Are you running on empty? Have you noticed warning signals, but they aren’t on your car’s dashboard? You have likely ignored self-care as you pursued success. If you neglect to care for yourself, you will not get to enjoy success in your life. Just like cars need regular maintenance, so do you. Yet, caring for ourselves is often not the highest priority on our list. We forgo eating healthy, sleeping, and exercising. If we go too long, we pay for it.

Consequences When You Ignore Self-Care  👈

If you read enough self-help books, you will notice the recurring theme of surrounding yourself with the right people. You may have even heard your mom tell you to stop running with the wrong crowd. These are helpful suggestions, but what happens when the wrong type of personality surrounds you? How can the kinds of people affect your success goals?

How the Wrong People Affect You  👪

You don’t want to eliminate relationships with everyone, but sometimes it makes sense to limit your exposure to them. Consider these ways that the wrong or unhelpful people in your life affect your path to success:

Stress is a common experience that can have negative consequences on both your physical health and mental well being. Stress can manifest itself in many ways and it’s different for everyone.

It’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of stress so that you can take action to address it effectively before it gets out of control.

This checklist is designed to help you identify the signs of stress in your body so that you can take the necessary steps to reduce it.

Checklist specifically for a Stressed Person about Symptoms of Stress.