Have you ever considered how you talk to yourself? I sometimes do it out loud. It started, innocently enough, with me and my dog. “Hey BearBear,” I’d say brightly (she hiding, sensing what’s coming) “I know it’s pouring, but we do still have to go for a walk!”   All too soon, this morphed into actually hearing myself say: “come on Jennifer, stop procrastinating and just do that …” (fill in the blank: nasty chore) Either way — whether our self-talk is aloud or in the privacy of our own head — the key thing is actually what words we use, and what tone of voice, as it were. This is especially important when things go wrong, when we fault or blame ourselves. I have found that playing with the pronouns you and I produces very interesting results. This applies, by the way, both to tapping and to normal self-talk.