Be careful what you say to yourself

24 Feb 2023 · 1 min

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1:13

In this brief monologue, the speaker shares a personal anecdote about their dyslexic brother, who was repeatedly told by a Year 6 teacher that he was "stupid" and would never succeed. The constant negative messaging led the brother to internalize those beliefs. The speaker then draws a parallel to how children learn times tables through repeated rehearsal, illustrating that repeated statements—whether factual or negative—create "instinctive knowledge" that the mind accepts without questioning. The core warning is that repeatedly thinking or saying things like "I'm useless," "I'm depressed," or "I'm anxious" can embed harmful self‑beliefs in the same way, because the mind does not evaluate truth or kindness but simply absorbs the repetition. The speaker urges listeners to be mindful of their internal dialogue to avoid perpetuating or creating negative mental states.

Chapters

My dyslexic brother was repeatedly told by his Year 6 teacher that he was stupid and would never amount to anything, and he came to believe it. As children, we repeat our times tables over and over and over again until we instinctively know the answers. Repeating things creates Instinctive knowledge, facts that we don't question. So be careful what you say to yourself. If you repeatedly say or even think, I'm useless, I'm depressed, I'm anxious, it works in exactly the same way. Our mind isn't thinking, is it true? Is it kind? It just takes it on board and can create that same knowledge. So be aware of what you are saying to yourself because you could be perpetuating, even creating those negative beliefs, those feelings.