How to Use self-talk in a Sentence

self-talk

noun
  • Your focus goes to your body language and self-talk.
    — Elise Devlin, New York Times, 16 May 2026
  • And a lot of that comes from self-talk and the awareness of our bodies.
    — Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 27 Oct. 2023
  • No time for negative self-talk, no time for getting in one’s own way.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 30 May 2024
  • Verse was despondent after the game and his self-talk was brutal.
    — Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Willard wanted to listen to McLean’s self-talk on the mound.
    — Will Sammon, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
  • This can lead to negative self-talk that lowers your chances of achieving any of the goals.
    — Jenny McCoy, SELF, 22 Jan. 2025
  • And so, one of the big things for me was recognizing how negative my self-talk was.
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Listen to a podcast about the power of positive self-talk, which is so good.
    — R29 Team, refinery29.com, 14 June 2024
  • Talk to yourself kindly Guilt can spark a lot of negative self-talk.
    — Juli Fraga, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Her positive self-talk encourages not only her, but those around her to achieve great things.
    — Marcus Reichley, The Arizona Republic, 27 May 2024
  • Not a physical one, of course, but for her constant negative self-talk.
    — Jess Joho, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2023
  • Instead, flip your self-talk to be more optimistic, Clear advised.
    — Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 17 Jan. 2026
  • At its core, impostor syndrome thrives on negative self-talk.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Simply becoming aware of this inner self-talk is the first step toward shifting it.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Rather than say something positive, my self-talk turned negative.
    — Matt Pyzdrowski, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
  • The negative self-talk really ruined it for me.
    — Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
  • For example, in Cope’s last marathon, her goal was to squash the negative self-talk that plagued her in past races.
    — Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Outside Online, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Also, look out for negative self-talk around topics like guilt about not hitting certain goals.
    — Melissa Willets, Parents, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Jot down any dreams after waking, and look for repeating symbols that nudge healing choices and kinder self-talk.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
  • The Cancer Full Moon asks you to be gentle and nurturing in your self-talk.
    — Colin Bedell, Them, 9 Jan. 2025
  • If even one of them is inspired to hit pause on the negative self-talk for even a day because of Bertinelli's posts, what a gift!
    — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 7 Dec. 2024
  • Now, experts consider self-talk to be one of the most effective tools to deal with worry and anxiety.
    — Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023
  • Here’s how to combat the imposter syndrome and negative self-talk that often comes with a career pivot.
    — Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2024
  • Doing so might also protect you from negative self-talk and criticism from others.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 14 Sep. 2024
  • There are a variety of strategies therapists use to help clients challenge negative self-talk and let go of regrets.
    — Jenna Ryu, SELF, 2 Jan. 2024
  • If however, we were often criticized and made to feel unimportant, our self-talk may be more negative.
    — Joy Harden Bradford, AJC.com, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Using distanced self-talk is just one way to prepare yourself for a challenge or stop negative thinking, Kross says.
    — Megan Sauer, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2024
  • Learn to catch your negative self-talk and rephrase it to be positive, realistic, and concise.
    — Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024
  • The aim of reparenting, Sarkis says, is to replace negative self-talk with the voice of a loving parent.
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Challenge negative self-talk and replace it with positive and affirming thoughts.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-talk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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