WHAT's YOUR SELF-TALK SOUNDING LIKE? THE POWER OF AFFIRMATIONS
Your parents most likely taught you to be kind, polite and the importance of speaking nicely to others. You most likely heard this phrase “if you have nothing nice to say, it’s best to say nothing at all” several times throughout your childhood. What may not have been said enough to you though is the importance of speaking nicely and being kind to “you”.
We all do it and most likely several times a day; sometimes it’s external “self-talk” and sometimes its internal “self talk”, but regardless talking to ourselves is just something we all tend to do. It’s those “little messages” we give ourselves about, well pretty much anything and everything that’s occurring throughout our day. Often times though these little messages we give ourselves tend to come from that “negative nelly” or that “glass half empty” place within us; that place of self doubt and insecurity.
Maybe you have a meeting with your boss or you’ve made a decision to start exercising again and you’ve joined the gym …. What does your “typical” self talk sound like? Does it go something like this?
“I’ll never make my boss happy, there’s just no pleasing him/her”
“I don’t care what happens in that meeting, I just give up and I’m tired of trying”
“Why do I even do this? It’s not like all this exercise even makes a difference”
“It doesn’t really matter, I’ll always have weight issues”
If you can relate to the above, like many of us probably can, a Daily Positive Affirmation might be just what you need to “rework” and “rephrase” your self-talk. Daily Affirmations can help you get from that “negative Nelly” glass half empty place to that “positive Polly” glass half full place.
Affirmations are always in the PRESENT tense and are always POSITIVE. They are designed to teach you to stop thinking negatively and instead, overtime, think positively… instead talking and being kind to “you”.
They are powerful and can really make a difference in how we think, view and tackle our day!
Give it a try!
Set aside 10 minutes every day for your affirmation practice. Choose an affirmation to start with, remember though that they are in the PRESENT tense and POSITIVE. Get a pen and paper and write down your positive affirmation in the left column – right away, write down what comes to mind whether negative or positive, in the right column opposite your positive affirmation. Write down your chosen affirmation again on line two and again write down your immediate thought opposite it. Continue this process over and over for 10 minutes each day. Use more sheets of paper if you need to. Writing your affirmation down is an important part of the exercise. Only work with one affirmation at a time. (See the example below)
Over time you will notice that what you write down in the right column is becoming more positive and starts to match the positive affirmation in the left column. It may take several days or weeks to see positive responses, or it may happen much sooner. Everyone is different! This practice can be used anytime when you want to make positive changes in your life, whether it is for health, business, or relationships.
Once an affirmation feels right and you are accepting of it, then you can move on to another affirmation but not before.
Example:
Let’s say this is your Positive Affirmation
“ I am exercising everyday”
Day 1: Your immediate response may sound like this:
“No I’m not. I’m fat, ugly and out of shape”
Your next response may sound like this:
“I hate exercising”
And your next like this:
“It’s such a waste of time”
Let’s say that in the 10 minute time frame you’ve wrote down 7 or 8 responses and by the time you reach number 8 it’s sounding more like this:
“maybe I’ll start walking”
Or
“I know I’ll feel better if I do exercise”
See how your responses are becoming less negative and more positive? Overtime you will begin noticing that your immediate responses are more positive and are matching the positive affirmation!
Give it a try and see for yourself: The Power of Affirmations
Sending Wishes Your Way For a Well BALANCED DAY
Jenny
