Don’t speak negatively about yourself, even as a joke. Your body doesn’t know the difference. Words are energy and cast spells, that’s why it’s called ‘spelling’. Change the way you speak about yourself and you can change your life. What you’re not changing, you’re also choosing.
– Bruce Lee
I love researching little pearls of wisdom and inspiration to share here and recently stumbled across a quote by Bruce Lee that I found so very intriguing. And well, we have learned over the years the incredible connection between body and mind… making his wisdom, that more wise.
Lee famously said, “The words you say to yourself matter. Especially the negative ones. Because the body can’t tell the difference. Words carry energy, which is why it’s called ‘spelling.'”
These words may seem simple at first glance, but their implications are profound. Our inner dialogue, those little conversations we have with ourselves day in and day out, shapes our reality in ways we may not fully comprehend.
Consider for a moment the power of your words. When we repeatedly tell ourselves that we’re not good enough, that we’ll never succeed, that we’re unworthy of love and happiness, or that we “deserve” our misery, we inadvertently program our minds to believe these falsehoods. And just like a self-fulfilling prophecy, our thoughts manifest.
But why?
Bruce Lee offers a compelling explanation: “Because the body can’t tell the difference.” Whether we’re berating ourselves aloud or silently in our minds, our bodies react as if these words were true. The stress hormones surge, our muscles tense up, and our nervous system goes into overdrive—all in response to the negative energy war we’ve unleashed upon ourselves.
Test The Mind/Body Connection Yourself
You don’t have to take my word for it! You can actually test this out for yourself in many ways, one of them by participating in a simulation. I promise you will be amazed at your body’s response. I did this myself several years ago while in Germany. It was the coolest experience to grasp the mind body connection.
I did the simulation with my children and it starts with each of you in your own elevator. (No, you are not really in an elevator, you are safe in an open room connected to a headset, but your headset shows you something entirely different.) I could tell my elevator was “going up” but other than that, I had no idea what was happening. Then my elevator door opened and I was on top of a skyscraper in New York City. I went into an INSTANT PANIC ATTACK, dropped to the ground and felt it with my hands but still couldn’t get my mind to calm down. You know you are safe and that you are NOT at the top of a skyscraper, but try telling that to your body…
Now, imagine your body’s reaction every time you belittle yourself… say mean things… or talk about how “you live under a little grey rain cloud”. How do you think it reacts? Do you think it understands you’re just being facetious? Joking? Or just using a lil “tough love” on yourself? And if your body hears that your worthless all the time, how do you think it may react?
Let’s Turn That Inner Dialogue Around
So, friends, let us heed Bruce Lee’s timeless wisdom and become mindful of the words we speak to ourselves. Because doing so, just might change your life. Let us choose words that uplift, inspire, and empower us to become the best versions of ourselves. For in the alchemy of self-talk lies the secret to unlocking our potential and living a joyful life.
Automatic negative thoughts can be pervasive, but with some effort, you can turn that inner dialogue around. It all starts with awareness. These thoughts are “automatic” so how do you stop something that you’ve been doing, without any effort, for years? Practice.
One idea is to wear a rubber-band around your wrist (a loose rubber-band that doesn’t cut off circulation), and each time you notice yourself using negative inner dialogue, you snap the rubber band and redirect. You don’t need to hurt yourself, you just need to get your attention so you can redirect those negative thoughts into positive ones. With practice you will get better at choosing your thoughts rather than allowing an internal negative dialogue run you.
Do you have tips for controlling automatic negative thoughts that you would like to share?! We would love to hear from you! Please take a moment to “like, love, subscribe and share” if this post resonated with you. Thanks for reading- even when video is king. ❤
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