“You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don’t know it, all of that doesn’t even matter.” ~ C. JoyBell C.
Positive affirmations were just a vague concept in my mind until I read a very special article that made me start implementing this vital tool in my life. The writer talked about how his mother would whisper positive affirmations to him before bed, and how as an adult, he had to learn to whisper them to himself and keep the positivity that she had introduced to him.
Now, not everyone has a parent who does this for them as a child, so as an adult, it’s even more crucial to surround ourselves with positive messages. What I learned from reading this article was so important to my journey and my healing process. I knew the messages that I needed to hear to be my healthiest self.
I was aware enough to know what negative beliefs were holding me back, and which healthy messages would counteract them; but I forgot that it wasn’t enough to just have this knowledge in my mind, I had to implement it. I had been waiting for these messages to magically come my way; as if my loved ones should automatically sense what I needed as soon as I knew it.
I couldn’t control the messages that were being given to me by the people in my life, but I could control the messages that I gave to myself, and this made a world of difference. After finishing the article, I sat down with a pen and paper to follow the practice that he had suggested.
I was going to write five affirmations on a paper and hang it next to my bed where I could see it every morning, and every night before I went to sleep. I looked into myself and saw the negative messages that I had been telling myself, or hearing from others, and I wrote a positive affirmation to counter each one. This is what I ended up writing:
1) I am capable.
2) I am supported by loved ones.
3) I am able to be productive and inspired.
4) I am safe.
5) The world is a beautiful place.
Some people may feel an emotional connection to these if they are dealing with negative beliefs that are similar to those I had been dealing with. Each one held such weight for me because they were things that I was struggling to believe, but were being blocked by the negative messages that were saying the exact opposite.
And so, I put these weightful words up by my bed. And each day, I would look at this paper and say these things to myself. I’m not sure exactly when my beliefs switched over, but through a gradual yet completely self-changing process, they did. And now looking at these affirmations, I know that I believe each one fully and without a trace of doubt.
I am capable. I am supported by loved ones. I am able to be productive and inspired. I am safe. And, the world is a beautiful place. These are my truths now, through thick and thin, they are a part of my inner belief system.
That’s my experience with positive affirmations. And it’s had more of an impact than I can even begin to grasp. Because once these beliefs became a part of me, I started acting with these beliefs. I began more projects and volunteered for more jobs because I believed that I was capable of doing them.
I could venture out and take chances because I knew that I was supported, and not alone as I believed before. I wasn’t tentative with my creativity because I knew I had the ability to be both inspired and productive at the same time. I was able to embrace being happy because my inner beliefs told me that the world was actually a beautiful and wonderful place, and not a world working against me.
Every person can benefit from switching over their negative beliefs to positive. If you are reading this, take a piece of paper, and write down five positive affirmations, and put it somewhere that you will remain aware of it. You will thank yourself when you realize how much positivity was allowed into your life because of it.
If you don’t know where to start, here are a few suggestions to get you started. If you feel emotionally connected, or if you feel a pang of sadness that you’ve never gotten this message, then write it down along with any others you can think of.
I am loved.
I love and accept myself.
I am beautiful.
I am seen for who I am.
I am strong.
I am able to change my life for the better.
I have infinite wisdom inside me.
I am able to be happy and fulfilled.
I am capable of anything I put my mind to.
I am smart.
I am good.
I have a positive influence on those around me.
I hope that these affirmations can get you started, or give you an idea of what you want to write. If you connect to any of these, please use them on your paper, but try to also add some of your own, because the ones that come from yourself will truly be the antithesis of your inner negative beliefs and will therefore have the most effect on your life. Remember that this is a tool: a means to an end, and that end is loving yourself for exactly who you are.
“Every time you speak, you are either building up yourself for the better or you are limiting yourself for the worse. Words carry power, therefore before you speak out, speak in… and test your words!”
~ Israelmore Ayivor, Daily Drive 365
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Positivity