It is what we repeatedly say out loud that matters most

Recently, I heard a story of a young boy who loved to play baseball. He spent a lot of time studying and watching baseball games on TV, trying to understand everything about the game that he could. One day, in his backyard, he was working on his batting. Being by himself, he would throw the ball up, grab his bat and swing at the ball. He would tell himself: “I am the greatest batter who ever lived” and then swing at the ball. On his first attempt of doing this, he missed. So he reached down, grabbed the ball and said out loud to himself: “I am the greatest batter who ever lived”, threw the ball up and swung again, missing for a second time. But he would not allow himself to get discouraged. He reached down for a third time, grabbed the ball and again repeated the words: “I am the greatest batter who ever lived” and then swung. Unfortunately, he missed and the ball landed beside him again. Without getting mad, he paused for a moment, smiled and then said: “I may not be the world’s best batter, but I am certainly the world’s greatest pitcher.”

What you and I tell ourselves makes a big difference in how we see ourselves. Primarily because what we repeatedly say, our subconscious will believe. As well as this being good news, it can also be very bad news. I know recently I have written on this subject yet something more has stirred inside me. For weeks now, I have had many people confess that at times, the words they used when talking to themselves were not very positive. In fact, when they made a mistake or forgot to do a task, on many occasions the self talk they used was actually down right destructive. A handful of people even told me they had been doing this for as many years as they could remember.

Upon hearing this, what we need to remember is that it is not necessarily what we say or think everyday that matters most. Instead, it is what we repeatedly say out loud to our selves that make all the difference in the world. Our subconscious will take those words in as “truth” and mark them as our “belief,” thus helping to shape our self image and self esteem.

In this story, the young boy would not allow negative self talk to come into his mind. Simply put, he did not focus on his faults, he focused on what he was good at. In addition to his focus, he verbalized his success with what he saw in his mind. What he wanted is what he spoke from his mouth. These are the principals and the keys needed for us to acquire a better self image and higher self esteem. I know how natural it is for those negative self defeating thoughts to come into our minds. For years I battled this. After some extensive searching, one thing that helped me defeat the negative self talk and destructive thoughts, was that I realized that my thoughts are “NOT” who I am. Once I truly got this, it gave me permission to look at myself in a whole new dimension. “You mean I am not a failure?” “You mean I am actually a very important person?” “I really can make a difference in those around me in my community?” The answer is easy. Yes you do and yes you can!

Don’t give in to the negative thoughts and destructive self talk. You are valuable and, yes, you are unique. God only made one of you and it was not by accident. What He has created in you, only you can do. Not me, not your spouse, not your Pastor nor your parents. He created you for a special assignment. You and I need to always be on guard for things that try to tell us: “Oh you can’t do that” or “Why are you even trying, you will never make anything of it.” Those thoughts do not come from God and there is only one way on earth that they will ever hold any truth, and that is, if you allow them to!

Take a moment after reading this and say to yourself, out loud: “I am important and I am valuable.” Then, say it again and again and yet one more time. Does it feel strange? Do you find it uncomfortable to say this? If you do, then I want you to read next week’s message because I have more to share on this and you are NOT going to want to miss it!


For now, be blessed and have a great Friday everyone.