Ok, we've had some tough challenges that you may not have been able to accomplish. You may be getting down on yourself. Snap out of it! Time to turn things around. Last week you picked it up a notch in your workouts, now it is time to pick it up a notch in your mind.
So this may be a little touchy feely sounding, but the next challenge is about affirmations. The most famous affirmation I can recall is Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live.
| Stuart Smalley's famous quote |
Remember that? Good times.
That was poking fun at affirmations, but they are a helpful tool. Whatever you give attention to grows. A mentor of mine always says "Where the mind goes, grows."
This can be good or bad. Ever had a stressful problem that you can't get off your mind and the problem seems to get bigger every minute? Thoughts become reality, so you gotta encourage the good thoughts.
So how do you go about starting an affirmation? Make a list of the top things you want to improve in your life. Next to each one write a few positive thoughts in the present tense. For instance if you wanted to improve your memory you could write:
-I have the ability to learn quickly
-I am in control of what I remember
-I am calm when I learn
-My brain absorbs knowledge like a Shamwow
So you got them all written out, now what? You have a few options.
1. Speak to the mirror. Speak with passion and conviction like you are trying to convince yourself. Because that is what you are doing!
2. Write them down and look at them several times a day just like your goals
3. Sing or chant them. Not recommended at work.
4. You can always go with some audio programs to get the affirmation into your subconscious mind.
So your challenge this week is two-fold. After you read this, write out your self affirmation. The rest of the week, the challenge is to do your affirmation twice a day using number 1 and 3. Night and day, breakfast and lunch, however you want to do it.
The other half of the challenge is to eliminate the negative self talk. I sound like a broken record about getting rid of negativity, but it is very important to do so. Don't ever talk bad about yourself! What good does that do? Replace things like "I'm no good at that." with "I'm not great at that now, but I'm getting better." I know this stuff is a little much, but all the cool kids are doing it! It's free, doesn't take much time, and it just might work. What's to lose?
Cliff notes version:
1. Say good things to yourself
2. Don't talk bad about yourself