Most of my private clients know how much affirmations have helped me and so many of the artists I’ve worked with. While this practice, for some, smacks of Pollyanna thinking or crystal-fueled hokeyism, it is simply a practice that can retrain thinking and increase focus. And for those who practice affirmations regularly, it works, not only bringing more positive vitality into life, but uncovering certain truths about what we actually think about ourselves and those around us.
This was never more true than this morning, when one of my own affirmations caught me off-guard. It reads, “I am highly focused on success,” and it is an affirmation that I admittedly borrowed from some guru’s list over the years. But this morning, as I repeated it to myself on the train, it dawned on me that it didn’t really ring true for me. Sure, I set and even reach many goals each year. I cheer others on and encourage them to be their very best. But for myself, my goals are always “realistic” in too much of an extreme, focused only on longevity, on SURVIVAL. My pragmatic self tends to be far too risk-averse and self-deprecating, and it has held both me and the List back – probably far more than I have ever realized.
This is the almost magical power of affirmations: not the words themselves, but of their repetition, their focus, their habitual practice. We repeat choice phrases over and over, day after day, in an attempt to adopt them in the present tense, as if they were already true. The process can not only “rewire” our brains and change the self-talk within. But they also reveal the hopeful thoughts we struggle with the most. Whether you think of it as practice, ritual, fake-it-’til-you-make-it, meditation, mental calisthenics or good habit, saying and working through positive thoughts ever morning, and as much more as you need them, will bring you closer to self-realization and awareness, and will increase that buzzword-of-the-moment… MINDFULNESS. (Do with that what you will.)
Regardless, it’s a win win win win win….
To learn more about affirmations, start with Chellie Campbell: click here. Her exceptional book, The Wealthy Spirit, has helped thousands transform their relationships with all things financial, and is an excellent place to start.
To check out my favorite “aff app” for Android (sorry, iOS folks — you’re on your own), check out My Affirmations in the Google Play Store. It’s free, and it allows you to choose from their library or write your own phrases, to upload photos, adjust fonts and colors, and even record your own voice, so you can make it a very personal experience.
