The Power of Positive Affirmations

I love this quote “Affirmations are our mental vitamins, providing the supplementary positive thoughts we need to balance the barrage of negative events and thoughts we experience daily.” Tia Walker.

I don’t know about you, but I take both physical and mental vitamins every day. What we attract is based on what we think about. What we attract is based on our attitude. What we attract is based on where we put our energy.

We decide where to put our energy but most of us don’t realize that. We are on auto-pilot, unaware that we have the ability to choose the direction our life takes.

It’s so easy to succumb to the negativity that bombards us every day. We are programmed to play is safe, to avoid taking risks. Big dreams scare people.! What if we fail? What if we fall flat on our face? It’s so much easier to stay where we are or take the easy way out.

Taking on a big dream requires energy, effort, focus and persistence. Stepping outside your comfort zone takes courage. It takes imagination, really seeing your dream as reality.

How can you do that? One way is to create a strong visual image of that dream. You can use pictures.  You can use words. You can use positive affirmations.

Taking this proactive step of determining the direction of our thinking is not something taught in most schools – we have to find these lessons for ourselves. We are taught to settle for the predictable, the safe so we aren’t usually given tools to help us achieve what seems impossible. Luckily, there is a growing awareness and popularity for the power of positive affirmations I have found them to be instrumental in achieving my goals.

Here are some tips on affirmations that have helped me I hope they can help you!

1. Put them in the present or future tense. For example, “I have achieved my goal weight.” This will help you see it as real, as having already happened.  Avoid words like I want to,I’d like to, I’m going to try to.All these leave open the possibility of failure. You have done it  it has already happened. Live into the reality of it.
2. Speaking of which, make them a stretch but achievable. Few of us can become astronauts but we can all exercise more and eat better. “I exercise four times a week, 30 minutes each time.” What will get you out of your comfort zone but is something you can actually accomplish?
3. As you can see from the last example, make them specific. This is critical! “I want to exercise more” is a very different affirmation than “I get up early to fit in my exercise plan of four times a week, 30 minutes each time.”
4. Be passionate about it! Get excited when you say your affirmations. Emotions make them more real. Emotions fuel your energy and the more energy you put into creating the reality of your vision, the better.
5. Say them often. Put them where you can see them. Write them down. Say them morning and night. BELIEVE THEM!
6. Affirmations grow stronger with time. It’s like a fire – the more you fan it, the brighter it burns. Don’t worry if your affirmations seem weak in the beginning – keep at them. Give them a chance. Fan the flames. Watch them grow and become reality!

Be creative with them! Dream with them! Have fun with them! They do work!