"As a man thinketh, so shall he be."
-James Allen, As A Man Thinketh
Finish this statement. "I am _______________."
Very powerful statements usually begin with these two words. How we identify ourselves and what we think of ourselves usually begins with the words "I am".
Consider this serious question for a moment. How do you make you feel? Positive or negative?
What does your inner voice, your inner critic, say to you throughout the day?
Who has control of the way you think? Your positive ego or negative ego?
While you think about that I want to share a story with you on how a single affirmation changed my life.
During my freshman year in high school, I made the track team. But not only did I make the team my coaches recognized that I was fast enough to be on the 4x100 meters relay team - which was sort of a big deal to me.
All of my teammates were upper-classmen - a senior and two juniors- and they were super freakin' fast. I thought I was fast until I met these athletes. Pretty safe to say that I had a big role to fill competing with them.
I can remember my very first track meet preparing to run the relay for the first time. It was intense, at least in my mind. I was so nervous that I had forgotten how hot the sun was scorching outside that day. I was so nervous because the race began with me.
Meaning, I was responsible for being the first leg, having just learned that season how to come out of the blocks properly and hand off the baton with dropping (which in relay events is a big, big no-no).
Everyone who has ever been in that position knows how critical it is to set the blocks properly. The way in which you come out of the blocks sets the tone for the rest of the race. That responsibility fell on my lil old shoulders.
So it was easy to feel intimidated. In order to come out of the blocks properly, I had to know myself. I had to know my stride so I can set myself up to get out as quickly as possible and in the best possible stride.
I can remember the nervous feelings I felt when we were on the field stretching before the event and when we were "on deck" or up next. My stomach was in knots. I'm not going to lie. I was having some negative thoughts. My inner critic was getting the best of me because I didn't want to false start and disqualify us, or fall behind and cause us to lose the race. Or worse, drop the baton.
My mind was moving as fast as I needed my feet needed to, and that didn't quite help my cause. My focus was misplaced.
My coach, we'll call her Ms. Suga (sidenote, Suga gave the best hugs and left you smelling just like her perfume ALL DAY), she must've could sense the nervousness coming from my lil body.
She could see that I was worried and paying attention to the other athletes in the other lanes. I told her that I didn't want to mess it up for the team and how I was nervous about being first.
Suga walked up to me, looked me in my eyes, and with these words she instructed me to repeat over and over.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Thinking "can I?" I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and like she instructed I began to repeat the words she had just spoken.
Now I'm not sure what the outcome of that particular race was, but what I can tell you is that I didn't false start, that I didn't drop the baton, and that I successfully played my role on our relay team. I also went on to compete in the state finals with these talented ladies and grew more confident as the year progressed.
This was the very first significant encounter, that I can recall, that I had with affirmations. As a result, I learned how to navigate my mind from a negative thinking mindset to a different more positive headspace that allowed me to feel more confident, excited, and ready for a challenge.
To this day, I still use these words to push me through feeling uncomfortable, uncertain, uneasy, and afraid. These words stuck with me and got me through so many things in my life.
So I have to ask you... Are you ready to break out the blocks and get closer to your breakthrough?
If the answer is yes, then continue reading. If the answer is no because you are worried or skeptical, then still continue reading, because this particular mind hack can get you there.
What U say to yourself matters.
You may already be familiar with the power of affirmations. They're short, positive statements that you can read, repeat to yourself, or listen to from recordings that are used to reprogram your subconscious mind.
Applying the principles of the law of attraction, affirmations are a way to help you think more positively about yourself and the world around you.
"If you are concerned about the world, the first thing you need to do is transform yourself into a joyful being."
Affirmations are a way that you can do just that. Transform yourself into a more joyful being that appreciates life and looks forward to that which life can offer.
What you manifest in life truly begins in the mind.
An example of an affirmation is "I am calm and relaxed." Spoken in the present tense, regardless of its trueness.
You might be thinking, "well wait, am I lying to myself then?" Short answer, yes you are. But it makes the cliche "fake it til you make" useful.
It doesn't matter what your current circumstances actually are, you can still use this technique too by repeating and believing the affirmation. Your subconscious mind will pick up on the statement and bring forth new feelings associated with whatever you are thinking about.
Belief is important here. Like very important.
An interesting fact about the mind is that it cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined. Knowing this can help you use your own mind to your advantage to manifest the things you actually desire.
Truth is, you may already be using this technique but to your disadvantage. For example, in many cases, we react to worst-case scenario situations before they even arise because we have already convinced ourselves that the worse possibility will occur when truthfully it is this line of thinking only manifests the worst-case scenario leaving us to believe we were correct in our thinking.
A simple, yet very tedious, adjustment to our mindset, in how we react to situations, can be all the difference in manifesting that which we want from life.
Affirmations can help with fine-tuning and reprogramming your mind. Making affirmations a part of your daily routine is how you can quickly implement this mind hack. They are another effective way to install positive messages into your subconscious. They work best if you follow a few simple rules:
1. Word them positively, in the present tense. Say “I am confident and successful” rather than “I will be confident and successful” because focusing on a future condition does not compute with your subconscious mind – it knows only this moment. Also, use positive statements. Saying “I am not a failure” is computed as “I am a failure” since your subconscious cannot process negatives.
2. Call up the corresponding feelings. Saying “I am wealthy” while feeling poor only sends conflicting messages to your subconscious! Whatever words you’re saying at the time, strive to feel the corresponding emotions because your subconscious will be more apt to believe it.
3. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Affirmations don’t work if you say them just once or twice. Recite them many times throughout the day for the best results. The good thing about this is that you can say affirmations to yourself, so they can fit seamlessly into your routine.
When you rise in the morning first things first, show gratitude for making it to another day. Start your day in a thankful state of mind. This is an excellent way to prime yourself for the day ahead of you. Following that, use the techniques described in this article and you are well on your way to living your life in the right frame of mind.
Mental transformation requires that you be patient, persistent and most importantly consistent. As soon as these transformations become apparent, you’ll feel motivated to keep moving forward and more confident, but until that happens, stick with it and know that these changes are lifelong, powerful, and well worth waiting for!
Remember,
How U see U is important, and what U say to yourself about yourself is even more important.
I want to wish you well on your journey to becoming your best authentic self.
As always here at BeU we are happy to see you grow.
If this article helps you to understand how you can train your mind using affirmations, then surely you may know someone else that could use this technique.
Share this article, and get some good juju in the process.
Comments