“I’m not enough.”

I shared this with a group of women I barely knew.

We were just challenged by our MOPS (Mom’s of Preschoolers) leader to write down lies we tell ourselves and bravely share them with the women at our table. I didn’t want to be the first to share but I hate awkward silences so I quickly obliged. I was nervous to share because I didn’t know these women but the nodding of heads and the “me toos” gave me comfort that I wasn’t the only one who struggled. They understood. They agreed. They too had been lying to themselves.

“I’m scared I will fail.”

“No one likes me.”

“I’m a bad mom.”

“I’m not skinny enough.”

More and more lies kept coming out. “Oh, how we are own worst critics.” I thought to myself.

We had just sat through a self-talk seminar and it was so encouraging. The lady who spoke shared something so profound, “We would never talk to others the way we talk to ourselves. Why then do we speak to ourselves so negatively?”

She reminded me of what I had learned in counseling almost four years ago. The first thought we think at the beginning of our day dictates how we think and feel every moment following. Negative thoughts and lies affects our attitude and ultimately affects those closest to us.

Since that first session of counseling and more hard sessions throughout the years, I’ve worked really hard to control the lies that come into my mind. Some days I still wake up thinking I’m a bad mom. Sometimes I still think that I let my friends down. Sometimes I still think that most of my dreams will fail if I try to pursue them. And when I do my thoughts dictate my day and my attitude.

Whenever we see our life through the lenses of negativity and doubt we fall short and we don’t allow ourselves any room for success. We become blinded from the truth.

I wrote last year that many of us deal with these lies. Sometimes it’s the result of our circumstances that cause us to go into this negative self-talk. Sometimes it’s simply the enemy and his agenda.

There is good news though! We have the ability to change our thoughts. There are practical ways to combat these lies! I practice them everyday.  Click here to read more.