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We often self-sabotage our confidence with negative words that we use to describe our feelings or while describing ourselves. It doesn’t matter whether we are thinking about them or saying them aloud, the damage of disempowerment is done.

Think of it this way, when we feel bad if someone else calls us stupid or incompetent, how would you expect the world to believe contrary about you if you, who are your own best friend think of yourself as being stupid or incompetent?

Are you aware of the disempowering effects of the words that you are using?

More often than not, the words that we use to put us down are ones that we use in our normal daily life and have become so habitual that we lose awareness of their true impact on our psyche and sense of well being.

Here are a few common examples that describe negative emotions:

“I’m clumsy”

“I’m stupid”

“I’m angry”

“I’m overwhelmed”

“I’m depressed”

What we may not realize is that these negative phrases are intense and can adversely impact how we feel and hit a major blow to our sense of confidence and self-esteem.

Change your vocabulary for self-empowerment

There are 2 ways that you can change your vocabulary to reduce the negative impact of your current word usage.

One way is to replace those words or phrases that put you down with ones that are more empowering and less negative in intensity.

So, instead of saying:

“I’m clumsy” to “I’m a little awkward”

“I’m stupid” to “I’m a slow learner”

“I’m angry” to “I’m a little annoyed”

“I’m overwhelmed” to “I’m in too much demand!”

“I’m depressed” to “I’m feeling a bit under the weather”

Are you using any negative phrases that make you feel worse or lower your sense of self-esteem? How would you replace them?

Hint: check a good dictionary, whether online or offline and find a word that matches and can be made empowering.

Another way is to reframe your feelings using empowering positive words which have a higher intensity.

So for example, the next time someone asks you how you are doing or feeling, instead of the negative words or neutral ones like “I’m feeling okay” or “I’m feeling the same” why not try saying “I’m feeling great today”. Enhance the power of your words with a smile!

Give your self-confidence a boost by using powerful words that convey the same positive feeling. Again, the dictionary may prove to be your best friend here.

For example:

Instead of saying –

“I feel happy” say “I feel blissful” or “I’m on cloud nine!”

“I feel confident” say “I am sure of myself”

When you start to replace the good words that you have used in the past with more empowering ones, try them on for size and see which ones resonate with you. This is something similar to affirmations. If your conscious mind does not believe them, then the unconscious mind wont either. It takes practice but then practice makes perfect.

In my Kindle book Self Confidence in 8 Steps I go deeper into how one can achieve the transformation from low self-confidence to high self-confidence with exercises and guidance to maintain your sense of self-esteem.

Which words do you use that put you down rather than lift you up? Did you come up with any word replacements that made a difference in how you felt? Do share your observations with me in the comments box below.