b'A QUESTION OF ATTITUDE 1.Why is it good for you? Autosuggestion can improve your performance and general well-being. For example, positive self-talk can help athletes improve performance and endurance.Additionally,positiveself-talkandamoreoptimisticoutlookmayhave other health benefits, including increased vitality, greater life satisfaction, improvedimmunefunction,reducedpain,bettercardiovascularhealth, better physical well-being, reduced risk of death, less stress and distress.Additionally, people with positive self-talk may have mental abilities that allow them, to problem solve, think differently, and be more effective in dealingwithdifficultiesorchallenges.Also,itcanreducetheharmful effects of stress and anxiety.2.How does it work? Beforeyoulearntopracticeself-talkfurther,youmustfirstidentify negative thoughts. This type of thinking and self-talk generally falls into four categories:Personalization: You blame yourself for everything. Exaggeration: You focus on the negative aspects of a situation, ignoring all the positive aspects. Catastrophe: You expect the worst and rarely let logic or reason convince you otherwise. Polarize: You see the world in black and white, or good and bad. There is nothing in between and no common ground in processing and classifying life events.When you begin to recognize your negative thought patterns, you can work to turn them into positive thoughts. This task requires practice and time and does not develop overnight. The good news is that it can be done.3.Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk: the following examples show when and how you can turn negative self-talk into positive self-talk.Again, this takes practice.Recognizing some of your own negative self-talk in these examples can help you develop skills to reverse thinking when it occurs.Negative: I will disappoint everyone if I change my mind. Positive: I have the power to change my mind. Others will understand. Germain Decelles111'