Is Negative Self-Talk a Learned Behaviour?

Oh, man, has Shawnee hit the nail on the head once again…

Okay, I need to tell you a story from about 20-plus years ago. As so often happened with me back then, I spent my winter Saturdays hopping from rink to rink around Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. And on this one day, I arrived in Taunton, MA, to teach a skills clinic to a group of local teens. Just as I was entering the rink lobby, however, I was greeted by a group of really little guys from my Learn-to-play clinic. Man, they were all bubbly — laughing and waving to me as they yelled across the room. As they marched out of sight and into their lockerroom, though, their parents — mostly dads — came down from the bleachers with the longest faces you’d ever want to see. I mean, they were sulking, and eventually explaining to me how the kids got killed. Hmmmmm… As I went to put on my skates off in a nearby corner, I had time to think a little about what Just transpired. I mean, the kids just finished seemingly having a blast on the ice, maybe not even knowing what the final score was, while their parents had a very, very different impression. Ya, hmmmmmm… And all I could think was that it would only be a matter of time before the adults’ way of thinking took hold, maybe even as soon as the ride home in the car.

Ha. I’m sorry for partly stealing Shawnee’s thunder, but I know you’ll love her video anyway.

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