Why you need affirmations in your life.
Most of the time, no one else is going to give you a pep-talk or motivational shpeel at any given moment of the day. It's just you and your brain, getting through it together. Sure, you can go on Instagram and find some quotes to make you feel good about life. But what about when you're stuck in traffic? Or at the gym? When those less than wonderful thoughts float into your head, who will be there to tell you it's all okay? Guess what -- you'll be there. You got this.
I realised something this week. When I'm at the gym, slogging it out on the exercises I find particularly difficult (yes 15 minutes on a bike is torture for me) the chatterbox in my brain starts repeating I can't I can't I can't I can't. Isn't that just awful? I hardly noticed I was doing it, until I said it out loud once and my partner said back "you can do it!" Lucky to have my partner in crime there to motivate me, it became obvious that I should be repeating affirmative things in my noggin during those hard times. Not demoralising bullshit!
So, this is where the affirmations made an entrance. It's pretty hard to just outright stop thinking you can't without replacing it with something positive instead, like you can. With my trusty friend Google, I looked up a list of affirmations. The simpler the better, in my opinion. And depending on whatever area you feel like you're lacking, or that your brain is particular hard on you about, you'll choose ones that resonate with you most. It's pretty simple really -- pick some affirmations, and when you notice your chatterbox chanting something negative, you simply stop it in it's tracks by repeating your new weapons again and again.
It's kind of embarrassing to share these, but here are the ones I repeat to myself a few times a day: I am grateful. I am loving. I am powerful.
I am worthy. I am patient. I am kind. I am relaxed. I am excited. Just to name a few. I usually repeat them all in a row, starting with the most relevant to the situation I'm in. For example, when I'm 10 minutes in on the bike and I absolutely do not want to keep going, I'll start off with I am powerful to get the ball rolling. And then next thing you know, you feel much better about yourself and you've done your time on the bike. When I'm stuck in traffic, I'll start off with I am patient and take it from there. It really works, I'm telling you. I guarantee that after your first day of affirmations you'll feel on top of the world. Simply by thinking I am patient in a situation where you require patience -- makes you more patient. YES it is magic. YES you should give it a try.
