What are affirmations? Is it just talking to yourself every day and making wishes while looking in a mirror? Not quite…
What is an affirmation?
An affirmation is simply a statement or declaration that something is valid and true.
When you pass by the hallway mirror on your way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, you notice out loud, “My hair is a mess!”
When you are loading up the family car with groceries, you might mutter, “I spend a small fortune every week feeding these kids!”
You may not know it, but those are affirmations (though negative ones). An example of a positive affirmation is something like “I deserve to be happy!”
How Do Affirmations Work?
It starts by becoming more mindful of your words, thoughts, and actions. When you catch yourself thinking or saying something negative, stop yourself. Find a way to put a positive spin on it, even when you don’t want to. I always say to ask yourself if what you just thought is something you’d say aloud to a child – would you tell this sweet baby girl that she’s a loser or that she’s too dumb to achieve her dreams?
I certainly hope not! If you wouldn’t say it to her (or any child), do not say it to yourself.
As you re-train your brain to be positive through your affirmations, it will become natural, and it will influence your life in all areas, including your thoughts.
Developing your own affirmations may feel uncomfortable at first, but as soon as you get used to the idea of speaking out positive truth, it will be a normal part of your daily routine.
When you catch a glimpse of your unruly hair, you’ll naturally exclaim (perhaps with a fun smirk), “I have such beautiful, healthy hair.”
And as you put away groceries, you’ll think “I am so blessed to be able to provide so well for my family!”
Depending on what you hope to accomplish through positive affirmation, tailor the phrases to benefit you individually. Identifying where you have weakness in thought patterns is a great place to start. If you are hard on yourself in a particular area, or if you are struggling with something specific, combat the tendency to be critical of yourself by instead telling yourself what you would like to see, as though it has already happened that way.
If you still struggle to come up with affirmations on your own, look into buying affirmation decks and use those to help get you started.
You are amazing!
A big part of using positive affirmations is choosing to believe you are significant and you are valuable. You will be amazed at how this alone will change your life.
If you are reminding yourself all day how valuable you are, your decisions will be made through a different lens, your reactions to negative circumstance will not be made out of fear, and you will develop a deeper sense of security in your emotional and physical well-being.
Think of it as a narrator in your life, reading the script as you live it out. If the script says that you are successful and happy, you act out the narrative believing that it is true, before it happens. You tell yourself what to believe, so that it will happen.
Tips on Finding the Positive
There are a few helpful things to keep in mind as you start on your journey towards a positive, healthy lifestyle full of new words, phrases and initially awkward declarations.
First, be grateful for who you are and what you can accomplish.
Second, don’t ever compare yourself to others.
Finally, don’t judge yourself or others.
As you implement these simple guidelines, you will be successfully affirming yourself with a consistently positive nature in no time. You can begin using your positive affirmations to influence outcomes in all kinds of situations.
You Listen to Yourself More Than You Think!
Usually what comes out of your mouth is a good indicator of what you believe. If you believe you are not good enough, you will voice that in a number of ways, and in turn, you’ll produce less than stellar results. You can use positive affirmation to turn the tables, change your mind about what you believe, and get positive results.
Remember that positive affirmations are a tool to re-train your mind into believing what you are telling it to believe. When you are speaking, pay attention to the words. KNOW that what you are saying is true. Believe that you are who you say you are through your affirmations.
Here are a few examples of positive affirmations to influence your day:
- I trust myself to make great choices.
- I am unique and significant.
- I am totally capable of providing well for my family.
- I was made to experience life abundantly.
- I was created to be healthy and whole.
- I am a source of great comfort, peace and joy for my family.
- I am creative and resourceful.
- I attract interesting people and amazing opportunities, because I am interesting and amazing.
- I am calm and relaxed when I interact with others.
- I study and comprehend what I read easily.
- I am surrounded by love.
- I have the means to experience life as I choose.
- My body is healthy and functioning as it should.
As you continue to build on this practice, you will achieve far greater success in your life – physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and financially.
You will thrive in your abundantly blessed life, and everyone around you will want to know your secret.
