The biggest obstacle in the way of our living an authentic life isn’t other people or circumstances. Hard to accept and annoying as heck, the only real thing that stands in our way is yours truly…our own selves…if we allow it.
At a certain point, most of us, through conditioning, get really good at tearing ourselves down for not being good enough, smart enough, attractive enough, thin enough, on and on it goes, until there’s no way we could ever possibly live up to our own expectations.
Getting caught up in negative self chatter and limiting beliefs is like a big gloomy cloud of negative vibrations hanging over our head, holding us back from living our full potential, eventually robbing us of the true freedom, peace and joy that we so deserve.
I have experienced first hand, and seen in others how thoughts create our life. Controversial as it may be and awkward as it may seem, positive self talk is one of the great things we can do to nurture and nourish our spirit.
Next time you start to call yourself out on something you didn’t do right or for not being good enough, pause for a moment and ask yourself how it makes you feel? Does it make you feel your best right now? If the answer is no, I encourage you to try something different – try instead, to tell yourself that even though you don’t feel good enough, you completely love and accept yourself as you are.
Don’t get down on yourself for having the negative feeling, just try to be aware of it, recognize the emotion behind it. Explore why you feel the way you do and what caused it. This will help to identify any patterns that may be repeating themselves, the triggers that set them into motion and help you to let go of the idea that you must be a perfectly positive person all the time.
The fact is, negative situations affect us all, but through practice we learn, not to push them down, or avoid them but how to change our thoughts so that we create more positive experiences.
Every thought we think is an affirmation, thoughts or statements declared as truth – so why not choose ones that inspire, motivate, uplift and empower us?
Affirmations are statements going beyond the reality of the present into the creation of the future through the words you use in the now.
Louise L. Hay
At first, it may feel strange to say affirmations to yourself and it may be difficult to really believe they’re true. If that’s the case, try beginning each sentence with I choose, I choose to or I choose to be. I encourage you to keep going and with practice it will seem more natural, after time you will really start to feel the words, which is the key ingredient to them becoming a part of your subconscious, or internal belief system.
It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
Claude M. Bristol
Writing words down gives them even greater power. To bring them to life, you can jot them down on post it notes and place them around the house, or office where you will see them several times a day.
Here are some of my affirmations. Likewise, I encourage you to come up with your own that personally resonate with you.
1. I love, accept and appreciate myself and others unconditionally.
2. I choose to be blissfully happy and healthy in mind, body and spirit.
3. I am strong, empowered and capable of anything.
4. Every day, in every way I am learning to embrace my imperfections.
5. I am adventurous, fearless and fierce.
6. I am free from expectations and criticism.
7. I am worthy of abundance and prosperity.
8. I am a beautiful and unique individual.
9. I am enough just as I am, right now and always.
10. I recognize where I’ve been and celebrate the person I’m becoming.
11. I choose to let go of negative self chatter.
12. I am smart, courageous and self confident.
13. I am loved.
14. I choose not to take things personally.
15. I believe in myself and offer value to others.
16. I choose to forgive myself and others and to let go of the past.
17. I nurture my passions and creativity by doing things I love.
18. I am gentle with myself and treat myself with kindness.
19. Every day, in every way I get to know my authentic self.
20. My self care is worth making time for.
21. I take great care of and love my body, for it is a temple and I treat it with respect.
22. I take time to nourish my whole self.
23. I am a priority in my own life.
24. I have compassion for myself and my mistakes, and have the same for others.
25. I dream big and create my life with intention.
26. I honor my intuition and use it as a guide.
27. I have the courage to say no and set healthy boundaries.
28. I allow myself to heal.
29. I am grateful for who I am.
30. I am patient with myself.
31. I am worthy of all things wonderful.
32. I am in perfect health.
33. I release self doubt, self defeat and self sabotage.
34. I choose to live in the moment and take things one day at a time.
35. I am the hero in my own life story.
36. I release the false security of being a people pleaser.
37. I choose to let go of what I can’t control.
38. I accept myself regardless of my mistakes.
39. I choose freedom over being a victim and to release all past pain and emotional baggage.
40. My light shines bright, I am free to be me, now and always!