We are often the singular obstacle that stands between ourselves and what we want to accomplish with our lives. The biggest and most important conversations are the ones we have with ourselves. If we keep telling ourselves that our dreams will never come true because we are too stupid or not skilled enough to accomplish them, then we never will. We very often have exactly what we say. Brilliant people still think of themselves as being inept. The socially competent may still perceive themselves as being boring. The beautiful sometimes look in the mirror and see someone who is just hideous. What do you tell yourself about yourself? What do you whisper to yourself in the recesses of your mind where no one can hear? We always have two options: talk ourselves into our dreams or talk ourselves out of them. The choice is always ours to make.

Anytime I have cause to pause and think about my internal dialogue, I am reminded of a quote by Lisa Firestone. She said, "A destructive thought process exists within all of us, and we are plagued to varying degrees by an internal dialogue that is harmful, restrictive, and at its ultimate extreme, self-destructive." I often find that my attitude at any point in time is driven primarily by my internal dialogue. How I react to unfairness, marginalization, or the act of being overlooked or ignored is always based on what I tell myself about that experience. It is so easy to feed a negative internal dialogue but it's just as easy to consciously develop a positive one.

We all need to learn how to manage the enemy with us. We all have one. The one that tells us to let our co-workers have it when they step out of line. That voice insisting that we must say something when we know that there isn't much that needs to be said. The burning desire to tell an incompetent leader just what we think, even though we know what we think will never be received in a positive light. If this enemy rears its ugly head and is allowed to run rampage, it could very well ruin everything we've worked so hard for. So, if we can stop the internal chatter that does not serve us well, we may be able to see that anything is possible and that our dreams are indeed attainable.

Being able to monitor our internal dialogue is one of the greatest gift we could ever give to ourselves. When we constantly tell ourselves we can't what we are confirming is that we won't and never will. Someone once said, "Letting go of your inner critic can feel uncomfortable but it's in the discomfort that new patterns are born." So, if you want to see new patterns emerge for you, consider evaluating your internal dialogue because when we speak poorly and self-deprecate, we reduce our chances of seeing what we truly want manifest in our lives. In truth, we realize and accomplish from the inside out. If we can't see it for ourselves, we can never be what we cannot see. Until we can see it and can convince ourselves that what we see is attainable and line up our self-talk accordingly, our desires will continue to elude us.

For many of us, our internal dialogue has held us back for years. Self-talk that we do not share with anyone but are loudly demonstrated by the choices we make. Our internal dialogue is always a choice; a choice that drives the lives we have elected to live so let's choose wisely. Let's silence the negative internal dialogue that threatens to rob us of the life we want to have and embrace a more positive one, filled with positive affirmations, that bring us closer to the realization of our dreams.