Knowing Yourself Better Through Self-Talk

Personality Assessment

Knowing Yourself Better Through Self-Talk - 7 Interesting Methods

Whenever you think about yourself, be positive. You can know yourself better when you are more aware of yourself. You own self will give you a more balanced and positive view about your personality, which will, in turn, help you interact with your peers confidently and frankly. Therefore, self-talk leads to self-awareness, which in turn, helps you develop the habit of positive thinking. Success is sure as long as you practise the technique of self-talk.
1. Becoming More Aware of Yourself
Find a quiet spot in which you can engage in self-talk without being disturbed. Visualize yourself sitting in a room with a companion. You do not have to worry about this companion. It is a person you have been with all your life, a person you can trust. Now, you need to understand this person better. Your companion is none other than yourself, and now you are going to talk with yourself.
Find out more about yourself by asking key questions about your life. Thus you set the foundation of advanced self-talk in which you can develop the habit of positive thinking. Learn more about yourself; learn to accept yourself and love yourself for what you are. Built up your awareness about your self. As you learn more about yourself, you will develop a lighter outlook on life and become happier and healthier.
2. Write about Yourself
On a piece of paper, write down about your opinions on yourself. List out the things you would like to know about yourself. Create another list of positive affirmations based on what you would like to be in future. Once you know who you are and how you would like to change, you will rapidly evolve into a new person.
3. Encourage Yourself
During self-talk, tell yourself that you are perfectly capable of making these changes. Sometimes, you will have to wait for a long time to see any changes in yourself. Remember that it took you several years to be what you are now. Look into the future with confidence and see yourself the way you wish to be in future. The day is not far away.
4. Take Positive Action
On your list of positive affirmations, list out the things that have to be done immediately to achieve your goals.
For example, you might not like the looks of your hair. Perhaps you would like a new hairstyle. It is a simple matter, but goes a long way in changing the way you feel about yourself. Perhaps your hairstyle now is the way your mother wanted it to be. It is now time to get the hairstyle you have always longed for.
5. Take it Easy
Change yourself slowly. Don't force yourself into making any changes. Give you mind ample time to adjust to the changing situation. Slowly and patiently reprogram your brain and make it behave the way you want it to behave. As you progress, you will find that the technique gets easier and even fun. You will learn to accept each and every change in your life in a positive manner.
6. Set Goals
The best way to find out about yourself is to create a set of goals. By setting goals, you can also learn about the changes you need to make in order to become the person you have always wanted to be.
Start working on your list today. You cannot reach your goals in one day, so don't be in a hurry. Make an estimate of the amount of time you will take to reach a goal, and work toward it slowly. You cannot achieve a goal the minute you have written in down.
7. Affirm Daily
Every day, sit in a quiet spot and say something positive to yourself. Use a number of affirmations to boost your spirits and to encourage yourself. Practise self-talk regularly, and aim at eliminating one negative thought pattern per day. You will soon find yourself becoming a strongly positive person.
You possess a lot of inner strength; all of us do, though we think that we are weak. Use your potential to the fullest, and one day you will succeed. If you catch yourself slipping, raise yourself to your feet immediately.

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Which skills are life skills?

There is no definitive list of life skills. The list below includes the psychosocial and interpersonal skills generally considered important. The choice of, and emphasis on, different skills will vary according to the topic and local conditions (e.g., decision-making may feature strongly in HIV/AIDS prevention whereas conflict management may be more prominent in a peace education program). Though the list suggests these categories are distinct from each other, many skills are used simultaneously in practice. For example, decision-making often involves critical thinking ("what are my options?") and values clarification ("what is important to me?"). Ultimately, the interplay between the skills is what produces powerful behavioural outcomes, especially where this approach is supported by other strategies such as media, policies and health services.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal communication skills

·                     Verbal/Nonverbal communication

·                     Active listening

·                     Expressing feelings; giving feedback (without blaming) and receiving feedback

Negotiation/refusal skills

·                     Negotiation and conflict management

·                     Assertiveness skills

·                     Refusal skills

Empathy

·                     Ability to listen and understand another's needs and circumstances and express that understanding

Cooperation and Teamwork

·                     Expressing respect for others' contributions and different styles

·                     Assessing one's own abilities and contributing to the group

Advocacy Skills

·                     Influencing skills & persuasion

·                     Networking and motivation skills

Decision-Making and Critical Thinking Skills

Decision making / problem solving skills

·                     Information gathering skills

·                     Evaluating future consequences of present actions for self and others

·                     Determining alternative solutions to problems

·                     Analysis skills regarding the influence of values and attitudes of self and others on motivation

Critical thinking skills

·                     Analyzing peer and media influences

·                     Analyzing attitudes, values, social norms and beliefs and factors affecting these

·                     Identifying relevant information and information sources

Coping and Self-Management Skills

Skills for increasing internal locus of control

·                     Self esteem/confidence building skills

·                     Self awareness skills including awareness of rights, influences, values, attitudes, rights, strengths and weaknesses

·                     Goal setting skills

·                     Self evaluation / Self assessment / Self-monitoring skills

Skills for managing feelings

·                     Anger management

·                     Dealing with grief and anxiety

·                     Coping skills for dealing with loss, abuse, trauma

Skills for managing stress

·                     Time management

·                     Positive thinking

·                     Relaxation techniques

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

SWOT analysis June 01, 2010

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning, including SWOT andSCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research.

§  Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving the objective(s).

§  Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving the objective(s).

§  Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective(s).

§  Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the objective(s).

Identification of SWOTs are essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.

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