Positive Affirmations
Positive Affirmations
When my daughter was younger, she would declare a different theme each summer. As a child with sensory stuff, most of the themes often revolved around clothing - the summer of dresses. Well, I’ve decided that for me this summer is the summer of self-care.
I was born a caregiver. I’ve always worried about and taken care of all of the people in my life. When you are one of my people, I absolutely cherish you and would do anything to make you feel cared for. The only exception to this is that I do not provide that same cherished feeling or care for myself. Through the wonders of therapy, I am learning to do better by seeing myself as worthy of care.
Last week I wrote about Limiting Beliefs. This week I am going to share a little about the power of positive affirmations.
Positive affirmations are phrases or statements that we can use to challenge our negative (unhelpful) thoughts to help us develop a positive mindset. Positive affirmations require a regular practice to make lasting, long-term changes to the way you think and feel.
As someone who bases their work in research-based practices, you can rest assured that there is science behind this practice. One of the psychological theories behind positive affirmations is self-affirmation theory. This empirical study is based on the idea that we can maintain our sense of self-integrity by telling ourselves (that’s the affirmation part) that we believe in positive ways. There is also MRI evidence that suggests that certain neural pathways are increased when we practice self-affirmation tasks.
How do you get started? It’s simple, and it costs nothing! Which is amazing since I am also practicing the summer of budgeting better :)
You need to decide how to frame your negative thought patterns. Do you tell yourself you are not good enough, have issues with your body image, or mock your own intelligence? You want to create a positive affirmation to combat that thinking. Write it down someplace you will see it each day. Choose a time of day to repeat the statement to yourself. Making it part of your daily routine is the key to consistency.
Here are a few examples of positive affirmations:
I am a strong, capable person.
I am capable of making healthy choices.
I love my body, my mind, my dreams, and my goals.
Negative thoughts do not serve me anymore.
You can find more ideas for positive affirmation statements here.
If you want to join me in the summer of self-care, this is the perfect place to start!
