The Power of iAM, iCAN & iWILL
~ Raising Self-Esteem Through Positive Affirmations ~
with Jodi Nicholson
Consider that every thought you think and every word you say is an affirmation and all of our self-talk or inner dialogue is a stream of affirmations. We are continually affirming subconsciously with our words and thoughts and this flow of affirmations is creating our life experience in every moment. Our beliefs are just learned thought patterns that we have developed since childhood, many of these patterns have worked well for us, but others may now be working against us, they are dysfunctional and may be sabotaging us from achieving what we believe we want.
Every affirmation we think or say is a reflection of our inner truth or beliefs. It is important to realize that many of these “inner truths” may not actually be true for us now or may be based on invalid or inappropriate impressions we constructed as children, which if examined as an adult can be exposed as inappropriate.
Our subconscious uses the behavior patterns we have learned to automatically respond and react to many everyday events in our life. This is essential to our survival, and we need to be able to respond quickly to events around us which would be impossible if we had to re-examine every aspect of things each and every time something simple happens.
Our learned responses and thought patterns enable us to automatically respond to circumstances quickly and easily. Problems arise however, if at an early stage some of the foundation beliefs on which many of the others are built were formed from a skewed perspective, maybe the strategy was appropriate for a perceived difficult circumstance, however often such beliefs are totally inappropriate for succeeding in the real world as adults.
You can use “Positive Affirmations“, which are usually short positive statements targeted at a specific subconscious set of beliefs, to challenge and undermine the negative beliefs and to replace them with positive self-nurturing beliefs. It is a kind of like cleaning your brain and you get to choose which negative beliefs to wash away. The way these statements are constructed is extremely important. It is important to remember of course that everything we say and think is a positive affirmation, using positive affirmation statements forces us to keep focused on our inner goals and reminds us to think consciously about our words and thoughts and to modify them to reflect our positive affirmation.
The more determined a person is to make positive changes, the more they are prepared to accept the change and let go of the past.
By choosing to think and say positive affirmations as true, the subconscious is forced into one of two reactions – avoidance or reappraisal. The bigger the issue the bigger the gap between the positive affirmation and the perceived inner truth and the more likely that one is going to experience resistance. This is where the subconscious finds it easier to stay with its perceived inner truth and avoid the challenge using any means at its disposal to avoid examining the issue. You will be able to recognize this reaction in your client by a strong negative feeling inside them (they will tell you) as they state the positive affirmations. Equally if they experience a sense of joy and well being, the mind is instinctively responding to something it believes to be true. When the emotion is present, you know the affirmations are working! Again, ask the client how they are feeling, ask them to describe it. With trust they will share details.
Continually repeating affirmations with conviction and passion will chip away at even the strongest resistance. Once the resistance is broken, the subconscious is able to re-examine the core belief and patterns they have been working on. The effect can be startling and things can change very quickly as the dysfunctional beliefs get identified and replaced by new inner truth. Depending on how deep into the consciousness these beliefs lay, every other learned pattern and belief that relied on the original belief as a premise, becomes unfounded. The subconscious has to re-examine them all, this can lead to a period of introspection. If you find that your client is experiencing serious resistance or have identified an area of trauma, it is advised to recommend they seek professional support.
Because affirmations actually reprogram thought patterns, they change the way a person thinks and feels about things, and by replacing dysfunctional beliefs with new positive beliefs, positive change comes easily and naturally. As a Success Coach I help guide my clients into the new belief system and then together we celebrate the positive effects and amazing changes for the better in many aspects of life.
From my coaching perspective I often notice that clients love and enjoy saying their new positive affirmations having a direct effect on activities, empowerment and their perception of things. Change in a positive direction begins to occur almost immediately. Keep in mind that how quickly you can help to resolve an issue is like asking how deep is the ocean. It depends on the issue, how deeply the belief is held and how a person is to bring about change, the latter being perhaps the most important of all. If you truly are ready and want to make changes, then the quicker those changes will come. People have made cognitive changes in their beliefs almost instantaneously, once they were prepared to embrace and accept a change, and they believe it to be right from their very heart, then that change will happen. So it is not really a question of time, more a question of how accepting of change can a person be?
Affirmations can be used extensively to target negative thought patterns. As a Success Coach I am a guide for my client, a proofreader in a way, making certain that the affirmation is properly versed. The process takes on a new journey to a new way of thinking. The joy is in the journey, and with positive affirmations you now have a tool and the knowledge and skill to deal with these issues effectively.
Affirmations will not only make a person feel better about themselves and their life, affirmations can manifest real change in life. Changing the way a person thinks, reprogramming the mind and removing the old negative beliefs that have been sabotaging again and again throughout life enables a person to achieve the life they’ve always wanted. This is a big win, ultimate success!
Example Affirmations ~ Feel Free To Incorporate Them Into Your Life!
Affirmations for Health
- Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
- Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
Affirmations for Abundance
- I am prosperous wherever I turn and I know that I deserve prosperity of all kinds
- The more grateful I am, the more reasons I find to be grateful
- I am joyfully paying my bills with love as I know abundance flows freely through me.
Affirmations for Love
- I know that I deserve Love and accept it now
- I give out Love and it is returned to me multiplied
- I rejoice in the Love I encounter everyday
Affirmations for Romance
- I am a wonderful partner and I can be happy in my marriage
- I release any desperation and allow love to find me
- I attract only healthy relationships
- I will allow myself to love again and be loved
Affirmations for Weight Loss
- I am the perfect weight for me
- I choose to make positive healthy choices for myself
- I choose to exercise regularly
- I am a vision of pure health
- I have a perfect blood profile
- I consume only what is good and nutritious for a healthy life
Affirmations for Self Esteem
- I believe in myself, and so do others
- I express my needs and feelings
- I am my own unique self – special, creative and wonderful
- I am fabulous!
Affirmations for Peace and Harmony
- All my relationships are loving and harmonious
- I am at peace
- I trust in the process of life
Affirmations for Joy and Happiness
- Life is a joy filled with delightful surprises
- My life is a joy filled with love, fun and friendship all I need do is stop all criticism, forgive, relax and be open.
- I choose love, joy and freedom, open my heart and allow wonderful things to flow into my life.
Read your positive affirmations out loud and immerse yourself in the “feeling” of what you are saying, hearing and being. Live the journey my friends, and feel the joy ~ Namaste and Make It A Fabulous Day!
In your life it may seem that all you seem to do is hurry up and then wait. There are many milestones that you look forward to achieving, however it seems like it can take forever for you to get to them. Why is it that people say that ‘patience is a virtue?’ and often times it’s the last thing that you want to hear when you are longing for something to happen. So, how can you go through life with a good understanding of patience and how you can practice it?
Jodi Nicholson 