You Are What You Speak
Have you ever heard the saying, “You are what you eat?” It basically means if you eat healthily, you are healthy. And, vice versa. (Apparently, it dates back to 1826 when a French lawyer wrote ‘Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what you are.’ The phrase continued to evolve until the 1930s when a nutritionist coined the exact phrase.)
This phrase (you are what you eat) is basically the entire premise of the beliefs work I do with high-performing women. The same principles apply. In fact, I’m known for saying, “You are what you speak.”
You know how I came to learn that? The hard way (read: life experience.) It took other people pointing out the way I was speaking about myself for me to even be able to hear it and then catch myself doing it. Perfect example, there was a day I was standing in front of the mirror smoothing out my hips and my then husband caught me and asked me what I was doing.
I whined about wishing my thighs and hips were smaller. You know his reply? “Quit talking smack about my best friend, Jen.” One sentence and my perspective completely shifted. He was right.
I would never treat my best friend the way I treated myself. I would never stand for my best friend believing the things she said about herself. I would never allow smack talk about someone I loved. So it became time to throw a little more love in my own direction and figure out what else was I saying out loud about myself, internalizing, and therefore believing. And how was it impacting myself and those around me?
I encourage anyone reading this post to ask themselves the same questions because we all have negative or inaccurate self-beliefs that aren’t doing us any favors but we think are Truths. I use Truths with a capital T for a reason..
Our “Truths” are simply beliefs we think are real. For example, when you say things like ‘I just procrastinate,’ or ‘I’m shy,’ or ‘I’m introverted’, or ‘I’m awkward’ you think it is the “Truth” about you. Except, you didn’t come out of the womb that way. Have you ever seen a shy baby? They scream their heads off to…
