Affirmations
Each journal begins with an affirmation page. These are the thoughts that you will tell yourself each day. They are at the front of the journal so you will have easy access to them. Simply open the cover and tell yourself who you really are.
If you think back to the thoughts that you have had over the past few hours, they most likely have been skewed toward the negative. In fact, “negative dominance” is common. Up to 70% of our overall thoughts can be negative.
Affirmations are a way to balance out negative thoughts with specific, positive intentions. Additionally, you train yourself to direct your thoughts toward who you intend to be today. Most of us wake up and bounce around the world. By affirming to yourself on a regular basis who you are, you begin to see situations differently, as if operating from a set of instructions.
How to Write an Affirmation
How you write an affirmation is up to you. Conventional thinking is to write an affirmation in the present tense. Such as, “I am an ethical person.” In this example, no matter how I have behaved in the past, I am, right now, an ethical person. I intend to behave as an ethical person today. When I encounter a situation where an ethical decision is to be made, I have already told myself today, “I am an ethical person.” There is no decision to make. This may be an active process for a long time. Over time, it becomes who we are.
Other examples of affirmations are:
- “I am a loving and affectionate parent.”
- “I am a compassionate and attentive spouse”
- “I bring value to my customers in every interaction.”
- “I make $x per year”
- “I am a positive and energetic person.”
None of these statements have to be absolutely true at the moment. You are directing your mind to become what you intend. The brain doesn’t know the difference between real and imaginary. When you practice telling yourself your affirmations, you are rewiring your mind to become what you want.
How and When to Perform an Affirmation
It is best to recite them out loud. I find that I pay much more attention that way. When I read them, my mind can tend to wander. However, reading them out loud can be difficult depending on who is around.
Affirmations work best when you can visualize what you are saying. Live each moment. If your affirmation is, “I am a loving and affectionate parent” picture yourself in a situation where you would be able to show that love and affection. This capitalizes on the brain’s inability to distinguish between real and imaginary and gives you a memory that you can re-create in a real situation.
Read your affirmations each morning, before you go to bed, and at any moment that you need to remind yourself. I recommend scheduling a time to read your affirmation at least twice per day. I read mine in the shower in the morning and just before bed at night. I placed the affirmations page at the front of the Define My Day journal so that you could quickly access them. I also recommend reading your affirmations before walking into an important meeting, a stressful situation, a sales call, or during a rest period when you need to reset your mindset.
Have Faith
Affirmation