I love to write about Positive Affirmations because this is such a powerful, transformative concept! Are you personally using positive affirmations in your life? I strongly believe they CAN make a significant difference in the way you feel, they way you think and the way you look at life in general. If used consistently, they can jumpstart your life toward a much-better-feeling everyday reality.
Whether or not you are familiar with this concept, here is an example of two vastly different sets of statements:
I am really out of shape.
My body and life are a total mess.
Bad things always happen to me.
I am so completely stressed out.
Nobody appreciates me.
I wake up with a gloomy outlook every day.
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I take good care of my physical self and enjoy vibrant health.
I am confident in my abilities.
There is much joy and abundance in my life.
I easily deal with any challenges that arise.
The appreciation I feel for others is mirrored back to me.
I greet each day with enthusiasm.
How did the first set of statements make you feel when you were reading them? Did the word “negativity” clearly pop into your mind, accompanied by that twinge of negative emotion? In contrast, what emotions come into play for the second set? You can see just by this small example that affirmations are statements that have intense power. However, some have negative power and some have positive power!
Saying one or two affirmations here and there is not going to have much impact on your life. Saying relevant ones — those that resonate with you personally — on a consistent basis, is the way to really put an affirmation practice into action. This leads to “affirmation thinking,” which is the mindset that helps you create a better reality for yourself.
When I first discovered affirmations, I was very excited about the potential, but wondered if they would make any substantial difference in my overall attitude. I decided to incorporate these statements into my life. I began by choosing just a few that created a good-feeling, uplifting emotional sense within me. Incredibly, they DID start a shift in my way of thinking.
The “ah ha” moment was realizing that I had a CHOICE in the way I think, and that I can choose which thoughts to give my focus and attention. So I choose to make positive statements — which of course connect to and inspire optimistic thoughts.
Try a simple affirmation practice for yourself. Saying one (or a few) aloud in the morning and again in the evening is an easy way to begin to bring joyful thinking into your everyday experience. I encourage you to start today — using positive affirmations on a regular basis can be self-empowering and truly life-changing!
