{"id":41862,"date":"2018-05-29T04:45:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-29T09:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=41862"},"modified":"2018-05-29T04:45:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T09:45:21","slug":"the-science-of-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-science-of-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The Science of Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea of self-talk elicits images of less-than-sane people muttering to themselves as they stumble about less-than-safe streets. I try not to look like that when I talk to myself. In theory, this means ensuring my internal monologue is actually internal when other people are about. In practice, people are always sneaking around corners and into elevators with me as I recite my day\u2019s to-do list or ask myself if I turned off the stove.<\/p>\n

Luckily, self-talk is more the rule than the exception and most people respond to its externalization with a knowing smile and a polite nod of the head. It\u2019s polite to stop once caught in the act, of course, but having followed this protocol no one has ever backed slowly away from me in fear.<\/p>\n

In fact, as scientists learn more about the benefits of self-talk, whispering \u201ctuna fish\u201d while hunting for cans on grocery store shelves has become more common.<\/p>\n

Positive words enhance<\/h3>\n

Self-talk is a growing research field, especially as it relates to sports performance. In one study<\/a>, basketball players instructed to self-talk using the word \u201crelax\u201d experienced enhanced performance results when compared to those who either didn\u2019t self-talk at all or used the word \u201cfast.\u201d Likewise, a 2017 study<\/a> found that positive self-talk increased tennis players\u2019 \u201cenjoyment and perseverance.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is it about self-talk that helps athletes perform at such high levels?<\/p>\n

Researchers believe<\/a> it has to do with attention. Self-talk serves to help people focus, blocking out distractions and minimizing ego. Given this mechanism, you would expect self-talk to influence performance outside of sports, and you\u2019d be right.<\/p>\n

In a classically designed study<\/a> of preschoolers, children were left alone in a room with an alluring, forbidden toy. Videotape footage revealed strategies of self-control, as well as showing which kids succeeded and which ended up with a shiny new toy in hand. Children who used verbal self-talk were more likely to avoid touching the toy.<\/p>\n

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In another study<\/a>, nine cyclists spent two weeks training in motivational self-talk. The training was specifically meant to increase both physical and cognitive heat endurance. An additional nine cyclists were used as a control. Both before and after training the cyclists underwent rigorous training in the heat, punctuated by breaks in which executive function, reaction time, and working memory were tested. The self-talk group saw significant improvement in physical heat endurance, measured by time to exhaustion. They also saw improved executive function in terms of both speed and accuracy. The control group exhibited no such improvement.<\/p>\n

Negative words limit<\/h3>\n

Just as positive words can build us up, negative words have the power to cut us down. The link between critical self-talk and anxiety is recurrent in the literature. Medical students with test anxiety, for example<\/a>, point to a critical inner monologue during their test preparation period as a culprit and negative self-talk has been linked<\/a> to anxiety in children.<\/p>\n\t\t