“Positive Self-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others”
How useful are repeating positive self-statements (e.g. I’m a lovable person, I have the power to change my mind/life situation, I can do this if I don’t give up etc) in boosting mood and self-esteem?
David McRaney on the You Are Not So Smart podcast spoke about this interesting study which explored this effect (links below).
Interestingly, repeating positive self-statements or focusing on if the statement was true among people with low self esteem felt worse than those who didn’t repeat the positive statements.
People with high self-esteem felt marginally better after repeating the statements or thinking about whether it was true.
Concluding, it’s said that “Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people, but backfire for the very people who ‘‘need’’ them the most” and indeed, may for certain groups under certain conditions be harmful.
Podcast link: https://youarenotsosmart.com/2012/05/30/yanss-podcast-episode-three/
Study link: https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9280.2009.02370.x
Link to the LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benhutchinson2_positive-self-statements-power-for-some-activity-6896935315542540288-k8_G?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
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