Power Affirmations to Power your Year
Jan 26, 2022
If you have been following along, all of January has been about habits that can help keep your goals and vision sustainable. I am a huge fan of what I call micro-activities, which are small steps over time that add up to big things.
In last week's blog, I shared all about my perspective on the morning routine and how it might be a little different than you think. This week I want to share what I call power affirmations.
The power of Power Affirmations
Before diving into these affirmations and why they are important, it is no secret that I am not great at journaling or writing affirmations. It does not come easily to me, but I know you do not wake up motivated every single day. That isn’t normal. There are going to be days you feel like crap or are ready to throw in the towel. These are the days you need these micro-habits, which in this case are power affirmations to keep you going.
According to positivepsychology.com:
- Self-affirmations have been shown to decrease health-deteriorating stress.
- Positive affirmations help us respond in a less defensive and resistant way when we’re presented with threats.
More generally, an adaptive, broad sense of self makes us more resilient to difficulties when they arise. Whether it’s social pressures, health information that makes us feel uncomfortable, or feelings of exclusion, a broader self-concept can be an extremely helpful thing to have.
Positive statements and affirmations are designed to encourage an optimistic mindset, and optimism in itself is a powerful thing. Affirmations have been shown to reduce negative thoughts, decreasing the tendency to linger on negative experiences.
Sounds like something worth trying, right?
Consistency matters
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to affirmations but, like most things, consistency matters.
There are two tools I use when it comes to affirmations:
- The Think Up App (a great place to start!)
- My journal
When I first started diving into affirmations I wasn’t sure where to start, so I downloaded the Think Up App. It is free, and you can choose affirmations that fit any category of life, like parenting, mindset, money, motivation, lifestyle, etc. I typically choose 2-3 affirmations per category and then save them. The app puts the affirmations to calming music and you can listen to them any time of day.
A few of my favorite power affirmations
Here are a few that I use to start my day:
- Patience will enable you to feel certain about the outcome and turn fear into faith.
- When I change, my energy will change. My energy creates my vision.
- I am willing to accept good things come easily.
- My body is a reflection of how I take care of myself.
- Whatever you appreciate you create more of. I am grateful for…
- Let the universe take the lead and trust what is in store is better than anything you could have imagined.
- I am grateful for the good in my life.
- The more I focus my mind on the good, the more good comes to life.
- Money is a tool that allows me to do good things for good people around me
- Money is effortlessly flowing into my life.
- My thoughts create my reality. I choose to think the right thoughts and release my old negative thoughts.
- Every day is a new beginning.
These are just a few of my favorites.
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Take Five with your journal
The second thing I do is get out my journal. I set a timer for five minutes and write what comes to mind. I save favorite quotes or my go-to sayings that I hear on social or riding the peloton and re-visit them.
As an example, the other day I was doing a peloton ride and Robin (my fav) said, “It is either an F-Yes or a no”. Set your intentions for the week. I have been writing this down in my journal every is as a way to remind myself that it is ok to say no.
I also have been taking Gabby Bernstein's 30-Day Manifesting Challenge, which I do every January. One of her quotes recently was, “Every day in life is an exquisite gift.” I added that to my journal list.
Sometimes I just make them up based on how I am feeling. While five minutes doesn’t seem like a long time, it is enough time to pull out your emotions.
Another favorite of mine that comes up frequently is, “My body is a perfect blueprint of healthy. It knows exactly what it needs to do.”
I mix in motivation, money, personal goals, etc. Between the app and the 5-minute journal practice, you can get a boost of motivation any day in about seven minutes or less.
Practice is key
Somedays, it is hard and feels difficult. Other days, the words flow. The key is that you have practice in your schedule to both keep you motivated and allow your mind to support you.
The key to affirmations is to practice every day, whether you write them, listen to them, or say them. You also want to make them positive in nature and avoid negative wording.
According to Eckhart Tolle, best-selling author and spiritual teacher, “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” So, what if we spend a little more time and energy working on changing our thoughts? We’d be much happier and, chances are, much more successful, too.
That’s where positive affirmations come in. They help redirect our brains to send us encouraging, uplifting statements instead of negative ones. These positive affirmations build our confidence, boost our mood, and increase our productivity and happiness.
By implementing positive affirmations into your daily routine, you can change your mindset—and, ultimately, change your life.
Take five minutes this week and create an affirmation practice. I’d love to know what some of your favorites are and how they work for you.
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