“The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will'." Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” -Charles Dickens.

Over the years, we hear various statements about the mirror of the soul, not least of all that your eyes are the mirror of your soul. I have never been sure what this really means, but it seems to me that the thing that is the real mirror of our soul is the language we use as we make statements that are underpinned by our belief system automatically and we come across instances of Freudian slips where the language becomes automatic and relates to something deep in our psyche.

The language we use is often quite a giveaway of what we really think. If you look up a 'Freudian slip', you will see on Wikipedia that we read “In psychoanalysis, a Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that occurs due to the interference of an unconscious subdued wish or internal train of thought”.

There is no doubt that language is the mirror of our soul and the language we use can also be consciously employed to give us fortification and direction, which although may not come from within, can nonetheless line us up to achieve something we want to achieve. It’s for this reason that I really like the quote from Charles Dickens. I often find that lack of confidence for achieving a particular task is preceded by the words of a coachee such as “I will try” and "I frequently find myself saying that". Limiting words like ‘try’ and ‘but’ are better eliminated from our vocabulary so that our language reinforces positivity and results in greater achievement.

If you would like your confidence to improve in relation to a particular task that is coming up, please do get in touch and we can focus on all the limiting factors including language and, if appropriate, preparation for a big interview or presentation.

‍