{"id":11192,"date":"2013-05-30T07:57:30","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T11:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=11192"},"modified":"2013-05-30T07:57:30","modified_gmt":"2013-05-30T11:57:30","slug":"engage-your-inner-coach-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/11192\/engage-your-inner-coach-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Engage Your Inner Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Refraction LX, Penola Straight, Antarctica, 2009<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A voice inside my head was grousing, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing here. It\u2019s not good enough. You\u2019re not good enough. Someone else has done this before. You\u2019ve done this before. You\u2019re uncomfortable. You\u2019ll have better luck next time.\u201d I\u2019d heard it all before. So I changed my inner dialog, \u201cThere\u2019s something here; you just have to find it. You know how much you like the surprise when you do. You have a unique sensibility. You\u2019ll bring something new to the situation. You can do it. It will be great. You\u2019re enjoying this.\u201d If I hadn\u2019t shifted the tone of my self-talk I would have given up before I got started, instead I stuck with it, for hours, and succeeded, many times. Refraction LX<\/em> was just one of that morning\u2019s successes.
\nYou\u2019ve heard it all before too. \u201cYou\u2019re just like \u2026 you always \u2026 you never \u2026 you\u2019ll never \u2026 why try \u2026\u201d As Carla Gordon said, \u201cIf someone in your life talked to you the way you talk to yourself, you would have left them long ago.\u201d We\u2019re told that to improve and reach our full potential that we have to be our own worst critics. It\u2019s true that there is a time and a place for this \u2013\u00a0but it\u2019s limited. Don\u2019t make it a full time occupation. If you do, you may never get where you need or want to go.
\nProfessional athletes and performing artists have coaches and directors who not only train them but also encourage and inspire them as well. So do many CEOs and salesmen. So do many people from many walks of life at different times in their lives and stages in their careers. They may even engage different types of coaches at different times for different needs. When was the last time someone coached you? When was the last time you coached yourself? \u00a0Even if you\u2019re lucky enough to find the right creative coach who can help guide you to perfect practice, they can\u2019t do all the work for you; you have to do the work too; after all, in the end, they\u2019re training you to do it yourself. You can\u2019t afford to wait and find your perfect creative coach. Instead, become that person.
\nEnergize yourself. Affirm your abilities. Take note of your previous accomplishments. Set tangible goals for the future. Chart your progress along the way. Provide yourself incentives. Reward yourself. Celebrate your accomplishments \u2013 both verbally and visually, privately and publicly. Be specific using precise language. Give yourself pep talks. Frequently use positive affirmations. Don\u2019t think you can do it? Tell yourself you can. And then do it. Watch your self-talk \u2013 and change it for the better. It\u2019s a mindset. If you want better results create a better mindset.
\nWhen you talk about yourself or your work, do you use positive or negative words? The words we use can be very revealing about our orientations, attitudes and beliefs. Many times, when we speak about ourselves, if we speak about ourselves, we downplay our abilities and accomplishments. It\u2019s true that no one likes a raving egomaniac. But, there\u2019s a real difference between arrogance and confidence. Confidence is attractive and inspiring; arrogance isn\u2019t; neither is insecurity. Don\u2019t let your insecurities get the best of you. Be careful not to talk yourself down, cut yourself off short, or fall completely silent. Instead, learn to speak simply and directly about yourself and your work and above all share your enthusiasm. Not feeling it? Act as if you do. With just a little practice you will begin to feel it. It\u2019s true we should all beware of over confidence. And, critical feedback, the right kind and the right amount, is useful for improving performance too. Peak performance and growth take the right balance of positive and negative feedback. But ask yourself, \u201cHow balanced are you?\u201d If you\u2019re like most people, you\u2019re not very balanced at all. Change this and you\u2019ll tip the scales in your favor. This takes constant monitoring and recalibration but you\u2019ll soon see substantial changes that make it not just worthwhile but invaluable.
\nHow important is this? Consider how much money is spent every year on motivational resources like books, videos, lecture, workshops, and more. The figures are enormous. That\u2019s how important it is to other people. Ask yourself, \u201cWhat\u2019s the price of not doing it?\u201d That\u2019s far greater. Don\u2019t pay it. Just do it.
\nQuestions<\/em>
\nWhat is the state of your current self-talk?<\/em>
\nHow many ways can you improve your self-talk?<\/em>
\nHow many ways can you make your self-talk more energized?<\/em>
\nHow many ways can you make your self-talk more meaningful?<\/em>
\nHow many ways can you measure the results of improved self-talk?<\/em>
\nFind out more about this image here.<\/a>
\nView more related images here.<\/a>
\nRead more The Stories Behind The Images here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Refraction LX, Penola Straight, Antarctica, 2009 A voice inside my head was grousing, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing here. It\u2019s not good enough. You\u2019re not good enough. Someone else has done this before. You\u2019ve done this before. You\u2019re uncomfortable. You\u2019ll have better luck next time.\u201d I\u2019d heard it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[61],"tags":[3163,1930,47,232],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nEngage Your Inner Coach - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/11192\/engage-your-inner-coach-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Engage Your Inner Coach - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Refraction LX, Penola Straight, Antarctica, 2009 A voice inside my head was grousing, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing here. It\u2019s not good enough. You\u2019re not good enough. Someone else has done this before. You\u2019ve done this before. You\u2019re uncomfortable. 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