If you are fairly new to affirmations, you have chosen a great time to get started. The end of the year approaches rapidly, and we all become overly concerned about what all the things we feel we have not accomplished. We do not often see are clearly what we have done. Affirmations, which are simply positive statements can be powerful reminders of who we are, who we choose to be, or we are choosing to become.
Carnegie Mellon University research has found that people under high stress did about 50% worse on a problem solving test. However, when they used a brief self-affirmation first, and a tiny break in the action, they did just as well as the other participants. See: 7 ways stress can affect your health.
The Benefits of Affirmations:
1. Improve your performance.
- In addition to overcoming stress, affirmations can also help you learn from your mistakes.
- Affirmations promote more flexible thinking, and this makes it easier to spot your errors and form new habits.
2. Feel better.
- This is medicine that tastes good and is good for you.
- Skillful self-talk can cheer you up almost instantly.
3. Enjoy better relationships.
- It is all too easy to slip into a posture of defensiveness when you feel tense.
- A few affirmations tucked away will give you a more constructive method for dealing with difficult issues so you can remain open to what others have to say.
4. Protect your health.
- Chronic stress triggers inflammation and interferes with your metabolism.
- By simply relaxing, you can reduce your risk for many serious health conditions, including obesity.
5. Draw on your numerous strengths.
- Perhaps you excel as a parent, but struggle with public speaking.
- Affirmations remind us of our most important strengths and helps us build confidence in some of our weaker areas.
6. They are portable.
- Your supervisor may look at you a little weird if you interrupt a staff meeting to go get a massage.
- On the other hand, you can recite uplifting messages out loud or silently wherever you are.
7. Find deeper meaning.
- Most importantly, affirmations welcome more meaning into your life.
- You will become more mindful of your choices and how your actions contribute to fulfilling your purpose.
Making Affirmations:
1. Time them right.
- Prepare yourself for challenging tasks before they arrive at your doorstep.
- Perform an affirmation before you give a presentation or board on a long flight.
2. Bring clarity to your values.
- You can apply affirmations to any area of your life, from baking a cake to putting out forest fires.
- Affirmations have the greatest impact in our lives when we tie them to our top priorities, whether that is our family and friends, a new invention, or exploring world peace.
3. Write them down.
- Recording your statements in a journal will make them feel more concrete.
- Spend about five minutes jotting your thoughts down.
- Identify what truly matters most to you and figure out the reasons behind your values.
4. Take action!
- Your behavior needs to match your words.
- If, for instance, it is important for you to be a great golfer, work on your swing.
- Want to care for sick animals? Enroll in some veterinary assistance classes.
5. Use multiple resources.
- Blend your affirmations in with other source of assistance and encouragement.
- Devote time to your spiritual practices.
- Speak with a friend about a conflict to get their fresh perspective.
6. Develop strong intention.
- Forceful wishes create mighty affirmations.
- Reflect on your motivation and give your full attention to what you are saying.
- Enlist all of your senses to produce a vivid experience.
- If, as an example, you are planning to grow begin a vegetable garden, fully imagine how they will look, feel, and taste.
7. Be sincere with yourself.
- Analyze your affirmations to be sure they feel authentic for you.
- Feel free to proclaim that you are a top salesperson if you really believe it.
- If you are not where you want to be yet, you may want to build up gradually by praising yourself for each call or visit you make.
Affirmations can lead to exciting breakthroughs in our lives. They help whether we want to lose a few inches or pounds, or we want to acquire new clients for work.
Focus on your core values and let them guide your actions and affirmations.
“One of the best guides to how to be self-loving is to give ourselves
the love we are often dreaming about receiving from others.
There was a time when I felt lousy about my over-forty body,
saw myself as too fat, too this, or too that.
Yet I fantasized about finding a lover who would
give me the gift of being loved as I am.
It is silly, isn’t it, that I would dream of someone else offering to me the acceptance
and affirmation I was withholding from myself.
This was a moment when the maxim
“You can never love anybody if you are unable to love yourself”
made clear sense.
And I add,
Do not expect to receive the love from someone else
you do not give yourself.”
Written by Doc
For more information, and affirmations, see MartinaMcGowan.com
Photo Credit: Templestream via Compfight cc
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