Self-Talk Creates Champions… | By: Committee for Children A champion uses positive self-talk, there’s no doubt about it. After watching the Winter Olympics, I am even more convinced self-talk is an important emotional skill that we must teach our students. Athletes don’t get to the Olympics by telling themselves they can’t, they’re not sure, or they’re not going to even try. This power of self- talk can create or destroy. Did you know that most people walk around with negative self-talk? They are talking to themselves about doubt, guilt, anxiety, and fear. This is not an Olympian for sure, not a successful person, and not who we want our students to be. What our children tell themselves day in and day out is what they begin to believe. How can we as teachers promote self-talk in our students to create achievers and believers who find success? Second Step has some great strategies to help promote positive self-talk. Here are some I have tried in my classroom that make my students believe! 1) I can do it! First of all, the word “can’t” is not allowed. We have a “can” do spirit and we practice this daily out loud and when using “self-talk”. Every time we go to take a review or quick quiz, we shout as a class, “I can do it!” I then like to call on a few kids and say, “What did you say Ellie?” “I can do it!” Then we all whisper it in our minds. 2) Be the Best You Can Be! I think I have mentioned this before, but my class motto has always been “Be the Best You Can Be!” It isn’t about being better than him or her. It is about being the best YOU can be. “I will do my best”, “I will give it all I’ve got”, “I will make a goal and work toward that goal”. These are examples of self-talk that you can help your students practice daily. 3) I am special. “I am unique.” “There is no one else like me.” Some kids have never heard these words said to them. As teachers, we must constantly bring this up in our classroom. We must remind our students that each one of us are special in our own way and have different strengths as well as the things we need to work harder on. No one is perfect but everyone is special and unique. Make sure students know what they are good at. Give them the opportunity to have a teacher or leader role in something throughout the day or week where they can shine. Students need to tell themselves “I am special”, but they also need to feel special. Taking a genuine interest in their likes, hobbies, sports, music interests, or extracurricular activities also lets them feel that “specialness” from at least one person. And that can be you, their teacher. 4) What if that was me? Teaching empathy through self-talk is perfect. The other day someone pushed me while lining up and I thought to myself “that was mean”. Then I thought “what if that was me?” “Have I ever pushed someone?” In doing this, they start to move from thinking “that child was mean” to “maybe that child got pushed, or maybe he lost his balance, or maybe he tripped.” It is good to help our students put themselves in other people’s shoes. Self-talk allows a child to wonder about the other person’s story. What a wonderful world it would be if we all took the time to stop, think about the other’s story, and ask “What if that was me?” 5) I can do anything I put my mind to. “I will be so proud.” Hard work doesn’t just come. It is a mindset. Determination is a skill we must not forget. Helping our students to be patient, practice, and keep on trying is why we are called the “teacher.” Think of a time you learned something for the first time. It was hard. You wanted to give up. You failed many times, but something inside you told you not to give up. Think of how proud you were when you learned it. We must help our students keep the end in mind, see the big picture, yet break tasks down small enough so they can truly feel successful and do anything they put their mind to! Watching those Olympians, I wondered what they were telling themselves as they were about to take that final ski run or jump upon the skeleton. So much time, so many sacrifices, so much hard work put into one tiny moment. What were they telling themselves? I have a feeling most of those Olympians told themselves “I can do it!”, “Be the Best You You Can Be!” “I am special”“What if that was me with the gold?” and “I can do anything I put my mind to!” Help your students be champions today and in the future by using the social-emotional skill of self-talk.