I decided I wanted to make sure my blog posts stay on positive topics for awhile. There is too much negative stuff going on right now so I wanted to focus on positive and happy stuff. I decided affirmations was a great topic to start with. An affirmation is a positive statement about what is going on or what you want to happen. You should write your affirmations down to help make them happen and also to help remind you about them. They can be goals, hopes, or just a reminder of something to give yourself a mental boost in stressful times. Keeping the message positive helps you reach your goals, manifests positive energy, and helps with motivation and your mental health.
You can write your affirmations down in a journal, on slips of paper and then put them in a special place, in a note taking app on your phone, or anywhere else you will be able to see it. You don't have to actually read the affirmation every time, sometimes just seeing the slip of paper or the box you placed the slip of paper in helps remind you of what is written on it. Seeing the journal you wrote it in or the page you wrote it on can help you remember what the message is, also. You shouldn't only rely on seeing the box or journal to remind you what the message says, though. Once in awhile, you should read what your wrote down to help strengthen the message and the reminder.
Using affirmations can help with both your long-term and short-term goals and problems. You can also write down multiple affirmations for multiple goals and/or problems and then store them together or separately.
The only rule is (and it's an important one) : Only use positive words! Don't use any negative words at all, even if you are using the negative words in a positive way. If one of your goals is to improve your grades and you really need to focus on a specific test, don't use "I will not flunk the test." That sentence has two negative words: not and flunk. Instead, use "I will pass the test." or "I will do great on the test."
I write my affirmations on a slip of paper and put them in a pretty box with some crystals in it and then place the box on my night stand. When I go to bed every night and when I get up every morning, I see the box and remember what is written in there. I'm not going to share every affirmation I have written, but I will share two that I am very happy about. In January, I had a horrible pain in my arm and we couldn't figure out what was going on. My doctor scheduled an MRI and I was very nervous about whether it would give me definitive results or not. When the MRI was scheduled I wrote: The MRI will show what is causing my pain." Ever day before the MRI and then every day until I got the results I saw the box and remembered what was written inside. While I was laying in the MRI machine for a little over an hour, I also kept repeating the affirmation in my head. Repeating the affirmation in my head also helped distract me from the uncomfortable feeling of being in the machine and the sounds it made. Having that affirmation helped me not freak out about what the results would be and most of all, that I would spend all that money to have the test done and then it wouldn't show anything. My affirmation cam true and I was able to take that one out of the box and add "Physical therapy will help my neck." That affirmation also came true.
I love my affirmation box, but some people prefer writing their affirmation in a journal. It can be a special journal just for affirmations, a bullet journal, your every day journal or maybe just a small notebook that you carry with you every day. Whatever works best for you. I think I prefer my box because a journal can get put in a bag or something set on top of it and then get forgotten. My box is a little harder to get hidden, plus I can put crystals in it to help with the positive energy. You can also use a combination of boxes and journals, if that helps you more.
Your affirmations don't have to be focused on a certain goal or problem, either. They can be general statements that you need to remind yourself of occasionally, like "I am confident." or "I am strong." Sometimes, we need to give ourselves little pep talks and having some affirmations already written down can help. If you are having a really tough day (or week) and are having a really hard time coming up with anything positive, you can pull out affirmations and read them. If there is something that consistently triggers your negative thoughts, you can write your affirmations based on them. My general affirmations are based around my job because it is what consistently brings out my negativity. While writing this post, I came up with the idea of using a smaller box for some work based affirmations to keep on my work desk. That will help when I feel like I can't do anything right at work and start to focus on my negative thoughts.
I hope this helps you stay positive during these crazy times. Feel free to share affirmations you feel comfortable with sharing or let me know if you need help writing your affirmations.
