Colleen Georges Author Interview

RESCRIPT the Story You’re Telling Yourself gives readers pragmatic advice for quieting the inner voices that limit their potential. Why was this an important book for you to write?

As I know is the case for so many authors, personal experience initially sparked my desire to write about negative self-talk and limiting beliefs. For many years, I struggled with low self-esteem, ruminating, catastrophizing, perfectionism, anxiety, and for a couple of years, panic attacks. I was my own worst enemy. I told myself how much of a mess up I was, I told myself I wasn’t good enough to achieve many of the things I wanted in life, and I acted in ways that perpetuated all the things I was telling myself. After my Inner Antagonist’s loud and persistent voice ultimately led to my panic attacks, I began to be intentional in listening to how I spoke to myself and about myself to others. I started trying to catch my self-critical thinking faster and faster, and respond to my Inner Antagonist’s voice with words, a tone, and a pace that calmed me and empowered me, instead of agitated and limited me. I call this voice the Inner Advocate. We all have one, but for many of us, this voice is so quiet and infrequent that we don’t notice it and it doesn’t have much of an impact. I learned that it took me daily practice, consistency, and time to amplify this Inner Advocate’s voice and quiet my Inner Antagonist. Doing so completely changed my confidence, outlook, optimism, resiliency, ability to achieve my goals, and my life overall. I wanted to write a book that could give this gift to others struggling with their own Inner Antagonist, so they could be their own advocate, have self-compassion, achieve their dreams, and give their unique gifts to the world.

How has your time working with people and the community as a Positive Psychology coach helped you write this book?

While the passion to write RESCRIPT began with personal experience, it’s my work with my clients and students that showed me how needed this book is. As an educator, speaker, and coach, I’m always trying to be an external advocate for those I work with. Positive Psychology tools have enabled me to help those I work with see and leverage their strengths, discover and follow their passions and purpose, and learn self-compassion, self-care, and self-love. So many of those I work with are also their own worst enemy. I so easily see the beauty in them, but many of my clients and students struggle to see that beauty in themselves. They too are beating themselves up over mistakes, telling themselves why they can’t, why things will never work out for them, why they aren’t good enough, and why they don’t deserve any better. After doing this work for over 20 years, it was very evident that we all could use a little more self-kindness and self-empowerment. When we are kind and empowering to ourselves, we have greater confidence and desire to give that kindness and empowerment to others. We are driven to use our strengths, passions, and purpose to do good and be forces of good in the world. I believe we all have so much to offer the world, but first we must offer ourselves the love and liberation we too deserve.

I appreciated the realistic guidance conveyed in this book. What do you hope readers take away from this book?

My greatest hope is that readers try out the various strategies in RESCRIPT and begin to intentionally and consistently utilize the ones that work best for them. I believe I have over 130 strategies in the book, but it’s not because we all need to be using ALL of them! I created so many, because we are all unique. We learn differently and are impacted differently. I hope readers will try out the strategies that resonate with them and continue to use the ones that are growing and positively transforming them and their lives the most. I also hope readers will take away the importance of self-compassion. Sometimes we develop a belief that being mean to ourselves is how we motivate ourselves, or that it’s necessary that we punish ourselves. Neither are true. We can motivate ourselves with positive words and actions, and by learning to forgive ourselves for mishaps, mistakes, and flaws, fully own who we are, and by using the wisdom of our unique experiences to do better for ourselves and others.

What is the next book that you are writing and when will it be available?

Right now, I’m working on a kids’ book with my son, Josh, who’s ten years old. We are writing a book about gratitude—the importance of being thankful and expressing thanks to others. We have been doing a bedtime gratitude practice together since Josh was five. Practicing gratitude has such a positive impact on children and adults, and we want to share this message and practice with kids, parents, and educators everywhere. It’s a blessing in itself just to work with my son on a project like this. We hope to have the book out by the end of 2020.

Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website

Are you living an old story script with the same patterns of difficult experiences or relationships? Are limiting beliefs, critical self-talk, regret, or worry holding you back? If so, you’re not alone. Many of us have an antagonizing inner voice that tells us we’re unworthy and unable to change. The voice is lying.

Author Dr. Colleen Georges knows this firsthand. A recovering self-critic and catastrophizer who once suffered with chronic panic attacks, Dr. Colleen first worked to RESCRIPT her own limiting story and has spent the last 20 years helping thousands of others to do the same.

In RESCRIPT the Story You’re Telling Yourself: The Eight Practices to Quiet Your Inner Antagonist, Amplify Your Inner Advocate, & Author a Limitless Life, Dr. Colleen guides you on a self-authorship journey using the eight practices of her RESCRIPT framework, based in Positive Psychology.