I disagree that positive self talk is the correct path.
I am not always confident.
I am not always able to succeed.
I do not always love challenges.
I don't like to define myself in such ways.
My mind needs wiggle room. It needs options.
My model operates more smoothly like this:
Best option: Being genuinely confident.
Otherwise, the wiggle room.
I don't have to be confident. I prefer to be confident. If I am not confident, I can find ways to become confident.
This gives me the freedom from failure. If I say "I am confident", and I know deep down I am not, I fail at the task, or there are set backs I will use the negative energy from the inital self-betrayal of false confidence for self-attacking thoughts. If I give myself the wiggle room of preferences and options I tend to fare better.
I have no clear solutions to the second phrase. I think when you say you are able to accomplish something, if you fail, your ego might suffer a let down. I would say, I might be able to succeed at what I am going to do, I can make adjustments to make the most out of many situations, if I outright fail I'll learn something.
The third will follow a similar pattern.
For a while the way I saw a lot of pop psychology doing what I consider to be self-delusion actually lead me to thinking that being positive in itself was a crock. Its important to accept that you determine your outlook and opinions, but you don't determine the truth.
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