A Turtle Called Me a Waterbag

 
A turtle in the backyard of Nancy Bos professional speaker and author. The turtle is undermining Nancy's confidence, and messing with her personal narrative with a sidelong glance.
 

It sounded mean. This turtle and I were looking eye-to-eye in my back yard. As it turned to walk away, it gave me a sidelong glance. I could hear its thoughts clear as my own: 

  1. Don’t touch me

  2. Don’t even think about making me a pet

  3. You’re a waterbag

But wait, I’ve become so amazingly talented at reading minds that I can hear a turtle’s thoughts? Seems unlikely. What is option two?

Oh, that these were my thoughts. That I was calling myself a waterbag. And yes, in this case it was insulting. So odds are high that my imagination was insulting me.

What’s up with that? Why does it have to be so easy for us to insult ourselves - to chip away at our own self-esteem and confidence. I mean really, that turtle could have just as easily said, “Hey there you voluptuous waterbag. I wish I were you!”

I think you know where this is heading. No matter how much we think we are winning the battle against negative self-talk, it will rear its leathery little head just when we least expect it.

Self-talk is, in essence, our personal narratives. It is the stories we grew up with and believe about ourselves finding a way to be heard in our conscious mind. Oftentimes negative, but not always. And it isn’t just our conscious mind that hears them. According to my upcoming Every Sing podcast guest, Dr. Don Wood, 95% of our thinking goes on in our subconscious thoughts.

Since you have to wait until Thursday to hear the interview with Dr. Don Wood, I suggest doing prep work by listening to Bring It On! with Hollis Citron episode 66 and hit subscribe so that you hear Dr. Wood first thing on Thursday.

Oh, and the next time a turtle calls you a waterbag, don’t take that shit. Turtles are the very definition of having a reptile brain.

BTW, I’m delivering my new keynote, Find, Love, and Live Your Voice, to the Women of Intermedia on July 21. After that launch and my July 30 TEDx talk, I’m booking video keynotes for August, and in-person and video talks for the following months.

Reach out if you want to bring me and one of my talks to your company or group.  I’m proud to say I’ve been described as “very inspiring and entertaining.” Anyway, NancyBos.me is a good place to take a deeper dive into all the talks I offer.

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Nancy Bos is the author of FOUR best-selling books. Learn more at StudioBos Media

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Nancy Bos