Affirmations

Affirmations are funny. I didn't believe in them for the longest time, because really, chanting, "I love and accept all parts of myself" has never done much for me, and saying, "I am a successful violinist!" will not make it true if I don't actually know how to play the violin.

Much more helpful are the affirmations I've come to embrace lately. They're not mantras or prepackaged chants -- they're just thoughts that I have, that I believe, and that I repeat while I'm driving or otherwise mentally bored to cement them in.

A few recent favorites:

• My heroes will soon become my contemporaries.
• Ideas are in the air. The genius is in the wall.
• I accept change with a calm, positive attitude.
• My thoughts determine this experience.
• Things will be all right; everything aligns with its best possibility.
• I handle every situation competently.

These beat "I'll never lose this weight," "I can't deal with this right now," and "This sucks" as affirmations hands down. I've had those kinds of thoughts wearing tracks in my brain, too, and all things considered, I much prefer these new ones, whether they're true or not. (And they are true -- the sheer fact that I believe them makes them so. Which is true because I believe it. Which is true because... Yeah, this could go on for a while.)

What are the affirmations you keep repeating to yourself? When you talk about money, what phrases do you always use? What labels do you stick on yourself and repeat whenever the subject of love or career comes up? If they feel great, awesome. If not, start changing them today. Overwhelm yourself with a positive emotion or logic your way into believing a better thought, whatever works for you. Use words that feel good. Your thoughts are your mental landscape and decor -- make your brain a nice place to live in and the results will start to show up in the outside world. It's pretty trippy. :)