Have you ever noticed that a smile can be contagious?
Smiling releases endorphins into our brains that make us happier. That is just a small example of how intricately we are connected.
Our brain is more powerful than we may even realize at times. Take a second to imagine how life-changing it would be if you changed the tone in which you speak to yourself. How much happier would you be if your internal dialogue was a reflection of positive affirmations?
Many people find that affirming your own worth and genuinely believing in the nice things you say to yourself can literally change your life. I am one of those people!
Are you that person who tells yourself, “You are stupid and nobody likes you”?
Those words only create a negative feedback loop in your brain. The more you say those things, the truer they became because of what psychologists call cognitive dissonance.
This theory states that when we experience something contradictory to our beliefs it causes us discomfort which can lead to unhappiness or other negative feelings like anger or regret.
I’ve experienced this in the past! In order for me not feel so bad about feeling bad all the time, I began repeating positive affirmations each morning and night before bed:
“I am sorry for anything hurtful I have done today.”
This type of affirmation has made me an infinitely better person, 100%.
If you aren’t looking into the mirror every day and telling yourself that you are beautifully and wonderfully made, I challenge you to start today.
The real growth comes from believing in the things you say to yourself and removing the negativity that lives inside your own mind.
The transformation in my life was a tough journey. I had to break through the tough exterior that hid all of my negative thoughts and feelings. As soon as I stopped being so self-conscious, everything started getting better for me – emotionally, physically, spiritually. The daily affirmations helped immensely.
“I am strong enough to take on anything.”
If you sit and reflect on all the shortcomings in life, I challenge you to start counting your blessings. Each day, make it a point to find three things to be thankful for. They can be simple: I am thankful that I have shelter, I have a heartbeat, I have one more day to find something to be thankful for. Eventually, take it a step further and really dive deep for the things you’re grateful for in life.
Write these things down or say them aloud during your meditation time. Thank the Universe for each of these things, and remember the world has so much more to offer you. A heart of gratitude in the simplest things will take you much farther when it comes to bigger challenges and blessings alike.
Life will not always be fair, and it isn’t promised to be easy either. We cannot always control what is happening in our lives, but we can most certainly control the way we think about things.
Although it may take some practice, it can be rather simple to retrain your mind to think in a positive light about every situation you come across. We can control our thoughts and our responses to situations.
If we are able to choose our thoughts wisely, and practice positive thinking daily, the change will not only be noticeable in your life but also in those you love.
Positive thinking is something that can make or break a person’s day! Whether it is eagerly anticipating tomorrow with excitement or regretful about what happened yesterday; whatever energy you put out into the world comes back at you tenfold.
It just might take some time for things to come around if they don’t seem to work right away. The Universe works much faster than human beings do…take heart as all goodness shall soon manifest itself before us!
When we shift our focus from what we cannot control, to what we can, it becomes a natural response. This will change your perspective from the glass being half empty to being half full without you even realizing it.
Acknowledgment.
Acknowledge yourself for all of your accomplishments and what you have to be grateful for. Sometimes it’s hard to see the good in our lives when we are focusing on other things that aren’t going so well, but one little positive statement can change everything!
Daily lists.
Make a list daily – It is always beneficial to write down all of the wonderful things that happen throughout your day. When you do this every night before bed, you will start noticing more blessings than they normally would.
Give thanks.
Be thankful for what life has given us instead of complaining about what we don’t have; there really is no point in dwelling on those negative thoughts because it does not serve any purpose at all.
You will become a person with a positive vision, who speaks positive words. This is the type of person that not only you will love, but other people will be inspired by.
I encourage you to find positive affirmations that are specific to who you are as an individual and to your own needs. Remind yourself who it is you are. With faith in yourself, all things are possible.
Renew your mind and retrain your thoughts.
Until you come up with positive affirmations unique to yourself, here are a few to start with:
I am worthy.
I am enough.
I am beautiful.
I am smart.
I am kind.
I am strong.
I am a warrior.
I am unique.
I am loved.
Keep these all with you, and know they’re true.
Write them on index cards or sticky notes and leave them around to be reminded often. Or you can write them with a dry erase marker on your bathroom mirror. This way, you can repeat them to yourself when you wake up and before bed.
The best way to reinforce these messages to yourself is to repeat them out loud.
Take my positive affirmations challenge.
My challenge to you is to start today to speak positive affirmations to yourself. Smile at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am loved. I am strong.”
Recognize the beauty in ashes and rise above to allow the light that inside you to shine. The world needs more hope, more happiness. Let’s be a part of it.
The power of positive affirmations will change your life. There’s so much more that can be achieved when you start believing in yourself! It doesn’t matter if you’re not happy with where your life is right now because everything starts from within.
Your thoughts create emotions which create actions – it’s imperative that you become skilled at changing those initial negative thoughts into something positive before they have a chance to do any damage.
