It’s the Holiday Season!
The holiday season is upon us. It’s time for New Year’s resolutions and setting goals.
Right?
Not able to jump into goal setting just yet?
That’s okay!
Instead of setting goals, try making a List of Positive Affirmations.
Affirmations can be incredibly helpful and healthy for your well-being when done correctly.
Want to stop negative thoughts and shift how you think and feel about yourself?
READ ON!
Affirmations
Positive affirmations are a way to challenge negative views we have regarding ourselves and our world. Negative self-talk can be very powerful. Likewise, positive self-talk can change how we think, act, and perceive the world around us.
Shifting from negative self-talk to positive can look like this:
“I’m going to tank this interview. I always do.”
TO
“I have all of the qualities necessary to excel in this position. My job experience makes me the top contender.”
Positive affirmations, kept in the present-tense, help you to visualize yourself as already doing, being, achieving, rather than in the process of getting there. An affirmation of, “I am good at working with students. I enjoy meeting their challenges and helping them to grow and learn,” allows you to visualize yourself in a role: leading, excelling, enjoying, and assisting.
Some Examples..
Here are a few simple examples to get you started:
“I am worthy of a good life”
“I can do hard things”
“I’m ready for a new start”
“I am optimistic for 2023”
If you believe in a higher power, an affirmation can look like this:
“I am never alone”
If you are trying to find or build on your success, one might look like this:
“My actions are aimed at achieving successful outcomes”
If you are a child’s parent or caretaker and want to be better:
“I will greet frustrating situations with calm and compassion”
Your affirmations can be more subdued if the ones already mentioned feel funny or strange to you. Start slow if you need to:
“I’m not terrible at everything I do”
Make it More Specific
Looking at the affirmations listed, try and tailor one specifically to you. The more specific it is to you, the better. Repeatedly saying, “My job is awesome,” is nice enough, but generic. Instead, you might say, “I enjoy providing for my family. The work I do is meaningful.”
Making affirmations too grand can result little or no change. “I am the most beautiful woman I know,” probably isn’t true, even if it IS what you want to be true.
If you’re going to believe what you’re saying, you need it to be believable! “My body is strong. I work on my strength every day.”
If it feels strange, that’s okay. Keep going. You are training your brain!
-Write down your affirmations. Store them where you plan to repeat them daily, whether that is next to your bed, taped to the mirror of your bathroom, or next to your computer monitor.
-Spend 3-5 minutes every morning when you wake up and every night before sleep repeating your affirmations out loud.
-Believe your affirmations. Visualize the words you’re saying and believe it as truth.
-Do you best not to miss or skip. Any new habit takes time to form. Shifting your thinking and beliefs will take practice and repetition.
Wrapping it up like a present
This New Year, I’m going with, “I am a kind person. I will bring joy to those around me daily.”
While this affirmation can help me to adjust how I start and end my day, how I perceive myself, and what I believe I’m capable of, it’s just the start.
Remember that YOU do the work.
Be proud of the shifts you are making.
Changes are a big deal!
What will your affirmations be?
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/do-affirmations-work#making-them-effective
This post was written by Jessica Flood, MSW, and published by Convenient Counseling Services.
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