Using Affirmations

Affirm·a·tion
1. The action or process of affirming something or being affirmed.
2. Emotional support or encouragement.

I don’t know about you but I could definitely use both of these things in my life right now!

So what perfect timing that my dear friend Tricia Huffman, aka “Your Joyologist” (and the creator of those cool affirmation mugs I share so often on Instagram), just released an affirmation app to make these little motivational mantras an easy part of your every day routine. But first, what are affirmations, how do they work and how can you make them work for YOU?

A little more clarification from Tricia:

“I like to say that using affirmations is positive brainwashing. All day long we tell ourselves negative things — I’m stressed. This is too hard. I’m not thin enough. They are never going to hire me. I am never going to find love.  — but we can use affirmations to turn those negative thoughts around.”

From my experience, affirmations go even deeper than that. You can’t simply find a positive phrase and repeat it to yourself and expect your life (body, mind, job, whatever) to change. You gotta do some work to make the affirmations work for you.

Here are a few tips from Tricia (who’s built an entire business with celebrities and musicians like Jason Mraz around positive affirmations) for finding an affirmation practice that works for you:

– First, find or create an affirmation that truly speaks to you. If it doesn’t feel right to you, it will just be that much harder to convince yourself that you are that. Use your own language, it doesn’t have to feel super spiritual in wording. The most important thing is that the phrasing moves and inspires you.

Some examples:
I am valuable.
I love who I am in this now moment.
I handle everything that is coming at me with peace.
I am a badass.

– Write it out! Once you have a an affirmation that excites you, thrills you, lights you up and maybe even scares you a bit… write it out! Take your affirmation and hand write it over and over again.  Do it at least 11 times, saying it to yourself as you write it. The process of writing it down brings it into reality and makes it more grounded, more real.

– Practice feeling your affirmations by saying them out loud in the mirror. Go to a mirror and say your affirmation OUT LOUD to yourself in the mirror! Again 11 times is a good number. This may be uncomfortable at first, but you will get past the discomfort and start to truly hear (and believe) what you are saying to yourself. For an extra reminder, write your affirmation on a mirror in your bedroom or bathroom. Dry erase markers actually wipe off easily when you use them on mirrors, and the also sell window markers for kids at craft stores and drug stores! This is also a GREAT activity to do with kids!!

– Work with a partner. Find a friend, loved one, co-worker  or coach to work your affirmations with you. This is super transformative, and can be super emotional. It is basically a back and forth with your affirmation with you saying “I AM….” And your partner replying “You Are…”

For example:
You say: I am perfect, whole and complete as I am.
Your partner repeats back to you: You ARE perfect, whole and complete as you are.

And here are a few easy ways to work your affirmations into your every day routine:

• Practice saying or thinking your affirmation every time you go to the bathroom.
• If you have a journaling practice, use this as a place to write out your affirmations on a regular basis.
  Turn your passwords into affirmations.
• Have items that you use daily that remind you of your awesomeness. Your Joyologist is a brand devoted to exactly that – I love the mugs, notepads and more because I can get a little boost positivity while sipping my matcha or writing out my to do list.
• Use an affirmation deck! This is an easy and fun way to find new and inspiring affirmations. There’s a great deck you can purchase from Your Joyologist OR download Tricia’s brand new app: Own Your Awesome – Inspiration App on iTunes or Google Play.

Shop Your Joyologist products here (use code ROBYN20 for 20% off): Your Joyologist Shop

Do you use affirmations? What’s your favorite positive phrase or practice? Leave a comment below and let me know!