WEBE Wellness: Need Motivation? Talk To Yourself!

Man in red shirt preparing for stair run at sunset.

WEBE Wellness: Need Motivation? Talk To Yourself!

It happens to us all – sometimes we need a little extra motivation. But if there’s no one around and you need a self-pep talk, refer to yourself as “you” and not “I”.

A new study found that when talking to yourself in the second person – like “you can do this” – running performance improved.

Psychologists think this works better because if you say “I can do it” – there’s a better chance that your brain will respond with “I can’t do it” – and that will lead to a lessened performance.

Pretend you’re giving someone else a pep talk, and you just may see the results you want!

Image Credit: Bastian Weltjen / iStock / Getty Images Plus