This morning I woke up with very little sleep and immediately thought to myself: "today is going to be a long day." I followed that one up with similar thoughts like: "I am so tired." "It's going to be hard to get through the day." The more I thought about how tired I was and how long the day would be, the more tired I felt. That's when I knew exactly what I wanted to write about for Wednesday's blog post- positive thinking and the power of words.
When I was a child, I began to learn about words. First, I learned how to use words to communicate and connect with others around me. Then, I learned words that I shouldn't say (rude or mean words.). After that, I learned words that I should always remember to say ("please" and "thank you" were two of those.) Then, much later, I began reading and watching videos about the power of words- how words can actually change our circumstances.
Now, bear with me, I'm sure when I talk about "the power of words" it sounds like we are venturing into fantasy land- but think about it. Our words influence our thoughts and the thoughts of others. Our thoughts influence our actions and our actions change our circumstances. I've listened to gurus and motivational speakers such as Sadhguru and Tony Robbins and learned about the power of changing our thoughts from negative to positive. It's not easy and I sometimes struggle with its application, but I've realized if we shift our thinking, we will be successful.
One way of shifting our thinking is by using positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are short statements that we say about ourselves and our lives. (For example: "I am able to give and receive love." "I am successful." "I am a healthy and vibrant person.") Most affirmations start with the words "I am..." which is a very powerful and encouraging phrase. Instead of destructive, negative self-talk which is normally a constant replay of words like "I am not worthy," "I am stupid," or "I am unloved," positive affirmations shift us into building ourselves up.
Feel free to sit down and come up with a few personal affirmations of your own that you feel will help put you in the right frame of mind for the rest of your day. These affirmations are like guides for our thoughts and help us remain positive. Of course, positive or negative, we don't always get EVERYTHING we want, but positive thinking puts us closer to success than the negative self-talk that we may be used to.
Dr. Wayne Dyer has an excellent meditation that combines the measured breathing of meditation with the power of positive words. I believe this track is available online, if you want to use it for your daily affirmations.
I hope you decide to use positive affirmations as part of your daily routine. Please write in and let me know what your favorite affirmations are!
