Affirmations

Our minds are constantly thinking. In fact, the average person has 60,000 thoughts per day. This is an astonishing figure, and it raises an interesting question: what is the content and quality of your thoughts? Are your thoughts positive or negative? How do your thoughts make you feel? Do they make you feel empowered, peaceful and happy or do they make you feel defeated, anxious and depressed?

Many people have developed negative thinking or "self-talk." If you reflect on your thoughts, you may notice you have some negative "scripts" or statements you say to yourself that make you feel badly.

Research shows that when our thinking is negative or self-critical it can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. The good news is, there is a scientifically based system involving cognitive restructuring, that can help you change your negative thinking and behaviors into positive thinking and behaviors – and affirmations play a key role in this restructuring process.

When we consistently change our thoughts from negative to positive, our self-esteem increases and anxiety and depression can significantly be reduced if not eliminated.

So, what exactly are affirmations? Affirmations are positive or affirming statements we say to ourselves. An example of an affirmation is, "I am worthy." Notice that this statement is stated in the present tense, "I am." This is very important to note, as it is imperative to always use the present tense when using affirmations because your brain internalizes precisely what you say. Therefore, you do not want to use wording such as "I will become" for this creates a state of "becoming" versus actually "being."

Additionally, research shows that the brain is often most receptive to internalizing new information the first thing when you wake up in the morning and right before you fall asleep at night, making these powerful times to use the affirmations. However, affirmations can be used anytime of the day or night and the more you use an affirmation, the faster it will get programmed into your brain.

Finally, it is important to note, that you may not believe the affirmations when you first start using them – this is normal and it often takes time and repeated use before you start feeling comfortable with these statements. In fact, it can take one to six months to develop a new habit. Therefore, with repeated use over time, you will not only believe the affirmations, you will feel and know them to be true.

Examples of Affirmations include:

1. I am gentle with myself.
2. I am calm and peaceful.
3. I am balanced and centered.
4. I am kind and loving.
5. I am joyful and appreciative.
6. I am compassionate.
7. I attract kind, loving and caring people into my life.
8. I am intelligent and competent.
9. I respect myself.
10. I am respected by others.
11. I am confident.
12. I am assertive.
13. I am strong and healthy.
14. I am vibrantly alive.
15. I am full of energy and life.
16. I enjoy taking deep, full breathes throughout the day.
17. Every cell of my body is glowing in health.
18. I nurture my body, mind and spirit every day.
19. I enjoy exercising and eating in a balanced way.
20. My life is full of wealth and abundance.
21. I am lovable.
22. I am beautiful and perfect just the way I am.
23. I am worthy.
24. I am wanted and valued.
25. I am kind to myself.
26. I deserve to be loved.
27. I am starting to love myself more and more each day.