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Quieting a negative internal voice:
“Sub-‐vocalization”, “internal dialogue”, “inner voice”, “internal speech” or
whatever  else  you  want  to  call  it,  all  of  us  at  some  point,  have  likely  been  at  the  
effect   of   a   negative   internal   voice   that   has   affected   our   state   and   our  
performance.
The  dialogue  you  have  with  yourself  on  a  day-‐by-‐day  basis  influences  and  shapes  
how   you   experience   the   world.   With   the   right   internal   voice,   we   can   find   that  
motivating  force  that  drives  us  on  when  times  are  tough,  with  a  wimpy  voice  we  
can  find  our  will  lackluster.  
Your inner voice is the companion who is always with you and left unmonitored
can jailor or, your liberator. How you use it is up to you.
For many people getting themselves to exercise regularly is something they are
good  at  not  doing.  Their  inner  voice  as  Richard  Bandler  would  say  is  “driving  the  
bus”.  A  mixture  of  “how  I  am  feeling  right  now”  and  a  strong  internal  voice  rules  
what  behaviour  they  perform.    
The inner dialogue goes something like this:
Voice 1: “I should go exercise…” said in a fatalistic, half-‐hearted voice tone.
Voice  2:  “Yea  but  it’s  cold  outside,  it’s  getting  dark  and  you  have  that  other  thing  
you  could  be  doing”.  This  is  typically  said  in  a  certain,  definite  voice  tone.  
Voice 1: “Mmm, well I could get up early and go exercise tomorrow and it is
getting  late,  plus  I  really  wanted  to  watch  that  special  double  edition  of  CSI  at  9.  
I’ll  go  in  the  morning”.  (Said  in  a  relinquishing  voice  tone).  
And the brain moves on to doing the next thing and forgets about going out to
exercise until “it’s too late” tomorrow.
As Steven Covey once said, inner victory precedes outer victory. NLP provides
you   with   many   tools   and   distinctions   to   quieten   and   take   charge   of   your   inner  
voice.  
Yet if you expect that NLP is somehow a magic bullet and you just need to run
one  technique  once  and  everything  thereafter  is  “happy  ever  after”  then  you  are  
setting   yourself   up   for   failure.   Human   beings   are   not   computer   machines   and  
while  we  each  demonstrate  an  incredible  ability  to  learn  and  change,  we  typically  
will need several iterations of a technique to get it to stick.
A lot of what you listen to on the inside is just noise, kind of like traffic control
updates  on  the  radio.    You  can  ignore  it,  listen  to  it  (where  useful),  turn  it  down  
or  switch  the  channel.  The  choice  resides  with  you.  
 
Copyright NLPTIMES.COM, all rights reserved in all media.
So  your  assignment  is  to  choose  from  any  of  the  five  techniques  demonstrated  in  
the  earlier  video  and  follow  along  with  the  process.  Practice  each  component  of  
it.  Be  playful  and  curious  as  to  how  big  a  shift  you  can  make.  
Practice   it   every   day   this   week.   Start   to   cultivate   greater   control   and   influence  
over  your  own  internal  dialogue.  If  you  want,  feel  free  to  combine  2-‐3  different  
techniques  to  develop  greater  control  until  you  can  put  your  tongue  on  the  top  of  
your  roof  palate  and  instantly  have  silence  and  a  sense  of  quietness  descend  unto  
your  mind.  
The reward for your efforts will make it very much worth it.
Celebrate every win:
As   your   become   better   and   better   at   controlling   your   internal   dialogue,   make  
sure  you  celebrate  each  win.  
If  you  were  unable  to  quieten  your  mind  before  you  used  these  techniques  and  
can  now  do  so  for  several  seconds,  feel  great  and  look  to  expand  that  more  and  
more.
When  you  are  able  to  go  for  much  longer  periods,  even  better  again.  Celebrate  
each   win   along   the   way   as   you   increase   your   capacity   to   be   able   to   hold   that  
state.
Remember  however  that  the  goal  is  not  to  be  able  to  quieten  your  inner  voice  for  
X   period   of   time,   rather   it   is   to   re-‐introduce   choice   into   the   key   component   of  
your ongoing everyday experience.
Go do this assignment now.