How To Manage Your Negative Self-talk  

By Jayaram V

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In the epic Mahabharata war, Arjuna had the privilege of Lord Krishna serving him as his Charioteer, while his opponent Karna, a great warrior, had the misfortune of Salya acting as his charioteer. When Arjuna became confused and despondent about the thought of fighting the war against his own kith and kin and expressed self-doubts, Lord Krishna reminded him of his duty as a warrior and instilled in him courage and confidence. Throughout the war, He stood behind Arjuna, advising him what to do or not to do in a given situation. In end the Pandavas won the war, thanks to his moral support.

But his opponent Karna was not so lucky. When he was fighting ferociously against his opponents, the Pandavas, his disloyal charioteer kept on criticizing him constantly, expressing his doubts and disapproval of his master. Listening to the negative talk, in the end Karna lost his focus, his chariot and his life. His charioteer broke his confidence and his will to fight and contributed in no small measure to his downfall and the defeat of the Kauravas.

Here is an important lesson for us to learn from the epic tale of the Mahabharata, which has a great relevance, even today. In each of us, there is a personal charioteer, who talks to us every day and every minute. It is the inner voice or the self-talk, with which we all are familiar. Depending upon how we deal with it and how we respond to it, we are either happy or unhappy and confident or despondent.

Our self-talk runs in the background all the time. Whether we are alone or in the company of others and whether we are idle or doing something, it continues to make its presence felt through a barrage of judgmental thoughts and opinions. It does not necessarily communicate with you verbally, unless you are auditory by nature, but manifests itself as your thoughts, fears, doubts, opinions, feelings and emotions. It tells you what is right and wrong, what you can or cannot do, whether you did something perfectly or imperfectly or how you should feel about yourself or your actions in a given situation.