How to Get the Most from Affirmations

You’ve probably seen affirmations in books or online and perhaps even tried repeating them for a few days without seeing much in the way of improvements in your life. Wouldn’t it be great if you could experience more positive personal changes from affirmations?

Making affirmations work for you starts with a clear understanding of what they are:

An affirmation is a positive statement written as if you are saying it, and addresses a personal characteristic you may have, wish to have, or want more of. Many affirmations also include content that prompts your mind to ponder the characteristic in self-reflection.

This process will help you experience the greatest benefits from reading affirmations:

1.  Make an effort to clear your mind before reading an affirmation. Ensure you have enough time, like 15 minutes or so, to read, process, and reflect on the affirmation. Then, read through the affirmation.

2.  Are you familiar with all the words used in the affirmation? If not, look up any questionable words. Think about how these words relate to the topic.

3.  Re-state the affirmation in your own words. This step increases your understanding and retention of the content as your mind mulls over the concepts.

You could say something like, “I think this affirmation is describing the best ways to talk about your feelings with another person. It focuses on being honest and not being afraid to share how you really feel.”

4.  Endeavor to apply the affirmation to yourself. Do you behave, think, or feel as the affirmation suggests?

• If you identify that you already handle the subject matter as it’s portrayed in the affirmation, then the affirmation confirms this quality in your mind and helps boost your self-confidence.
• If you believe you respond in less than positive ways to the situations described, what can you learn from the affirmation?
• Reflect on the positive methods in the affirmation to help develop those methods in your own life. Strive to apply the information in similar situations in the future.

5.  Recognize that an important function of an affirmation is to encourage you to look within yourself. Effective affirmations usually state you’re skilled at something or can emotionally deal with situations in healthy ways.

6.  Achieve self-improvement with affirmations. For people like you, who seek to live the most fulfilling life possible, affirmations can provide an endless array of self-improvement topics upon which you can reflect.

• Affirmations confirm the great qualities you already have and help you develop and strengthen the characteristics you want to add to your repertoire.
• The combination of self-reflection and repetition enables the affirmation to reach your sub-conscious mind and changes your beliefs and actions, one thought at a time.

7.  Discover new and exciting qualities about yourself. Because life is often a rocky pathway, engaging in ongoing self-discovery can help you better navigate the bumpy parts of your journey by figuring out things about your personal qualities and ways of relating.

When you use these strategies, you’ll not only discover new knowledge while reading affirmations, but you’ll also learn to apply the new information in your own life in ways that strengthen and benefit you.

6 Steps to Decreasing Your Anxiety

Have you ever felt so pent up and anxious that you couldn’t get simple tasks accomplished?

 

One reason for this dilemma is that whenever you’re worried or nervous, you use up precious stores of emotional energy. When this happens, you have no energy left to sustain your daily existence. You feel zapped. And you’ll continue to feel that way until you can alleviate some of your anxiety.

 

Lack of energy is just part of the negative impact that anxiety has on your life. Anxiety seriously impedes both your mental and physical health. Learning to control anxiety is one of the best things you can do for your wellbeing.

 

Following this 7-step process will put you back in charge:

 

1.      Start a Worry List. Get a spiral notebook specifically for your Worry List. When you start to feel anxious about something, write it down on your list. Doing so will allow you to calm your chaotic thoughts and confidently move on with your day.

2.      Establish a time to worry each day. As your worries sneak into your thoughts throughout the day, “gather them up” by jotting down those concerns onto your Worry List. Then, decide on a specific time you’ll worry each day.

 

·         You can set up as much time as you want — 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or even a whole hour to fret and worry.

3.      Abruptly stop any worry that occurs spontaneously during the day. When you start to worry throughout the day, say to yourself, “No, I’m not going to worry about that right now. I’ll do it during Worry Time.”

 

·         Discover your power by abruptly ceasing your worry outside of Worry Time.

·         You receive an immediate benefit from this action because it conserves your emotional energy, allowing you to feel more vigorous throughout your busy day.

4.      Spend your established Worry Time alone. Close the door. Turn off the television and your music. Avoid playing with your smartphone or electronic tablet during Worry Time. Set a timer for when you’ll stop worrying. Now, get out your Worry List and worry.

·         Do nothing but think about upsetting topics during your established time. When the timer goes off, stop your anxious thoughts. Strengthen your resolve to focus on the rest of your day free of worry.

5.      Play the devil’s advocate. Question your anxiety.

 

·         For example, if you worry that people stare at you when you go out in public, take the opposite side. In this case, think, “Maybe people glance at me, but don’t stare.” You can easily test your opposite theory by going to the mall or grocery store and watching for people who do not look at you.

·         You’ll find the devil’s advocate routine squelches many kinds of unsettling anxieties.

 

6.      Ask yourself, “Does this issue have a solution?” If you can quickly determine whether the challenge at hand is solvable, you can then confidently proceed to put a solution into place to prevent future worry about that issue.

5 Exercises to Find Peace in Your Life

What is it you want to do with your life? How do you think you’re going to make it happen? If you’re not sure, then self-reflection is in order.

 

Even if you have an idea where you want to go, you may want to consider doing self-reflection exercises to ensure that you remain on the path toward success. When you are on the right path, you can also find peace in your life.

 

Here are 5 self-reflection exercises that you can use to put things into perspective. These exercises can help you to clear your mind, relax, and find that peace you crave:

 

1.      Compose affirmations. Write a list of at least 50 affirmations. These affirmations should embrace what you want to achieve and what you want to become in your life.

• Write them in present tense and be sure to use the word “I” throughout the list. For example, “I am always good at my job.”
  
  
• It is important to focus on the things that are occurring now that will lead to your future success.
  
  

You may hear words in your head such as, “But you messed this up the other day” or “You weren’t as productive a few days ago.” If you are hearing things like this, then banish those negative thoughts. It can take some time to get used to positive thinking, but it’ll be time well-spent.

 

• Repeating your affirmations aloud will enable you to reprogram your mind with positive thoughts.

 

2.      Tap into your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is where your self-image is stored. All of your attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and values are here. Your subconscious mind is the core of who you are and it’s a very powerful force.

If you go inward and reflect upon what’s inside this storehouse within the mind, you can gain a better sense of self-awareness. Some may call this meditation. Regardless of what you call it, this process helps you to attain a higher level of consciousness.

 

• Better self-awareness can provide you with many answers about yourself and your true beliefs.

 

3.      Visualize creatively. This is a fun way to self-reflect! Make yourself a box to show your hopes and dreams. Or you can create a vision board. Place pictures and words that represent you and your thoughts into your box or on your board. The more details you include, the better it works!

• Imagination is the key and the sky is the limit!

 

4.      Ask yourself questions. Ask yourself questions about yourself. Write down your questions and your answers. Ask yourself questions about the present and the future and provide yourself with positive answers. You can be creative with your questions because only you know what’s inside of you.

• Be sure to structure your questions to include details about your hopes and dreams.

 

5.      Write and reflect. Purchase a journal and write in that journal every single day. Each day, first write down something positive that occurred that day. Next, write down a question for yourself. Don’t answer that question then and there. Reflect on that question and write your answer the next day as a part of your journal entry.

 

As you can see, self-reflection truly is an art. It involves tapping your inner being and using that to figure out what it is you really want. In time, your reflections will enable you to achieve the peace and serenity you deserve.  

10 Simple and Free Ways To Let Go Of Stress

Here is a list of ideas for FREE ways to relax:

1.      Light Exercise. A great way to relax is getting some light exercise. This can mean going for a walk around the neighborhood or playing a low impact sport. Exercise has been known to help the body relax and engaging in non-intense exercise will help your mind to unwind as well.

2.      Meditation. Taking up meditation is one of the most relaxing activities you can engage in for free. All you need to do is sit in silence and focus on your breath. When negative thoughts arise, acknowledge them, and then let them go. Try doing this for 30 minutes each day.

3.      Take a Nap. Babies and toddlers aren't the only ones that can benefit from a nap! You may even feel relaxed and rejuvenated after a simple 15-minute snooze. You don't even need to completely fall asleep to enjoy this activity.

4.      Shoot the Breeze. Go to a friend's house or talk to a friend on the phone. Chances are you have one of those friends that you can chat with as if no time has gone by since you last talked. Old friends usually provide great opportunities to talk about the good old days.

5.      Listen to Music. Grab the MP3 player and lay down with some great tunes. Pick out a group of songs that you find especially relaxing. Classical and other light songs usually work best.

6.      Read a Book. Go check out a new book from the local library and start reading. It may even be a fun activity to read one of your favorite books over again.

7.      Take a Hot Bath. Take a hot bath or shower. If you're taking a bath, add in bubble bath soap, play some classical music, and remember to turn off your phone ringer. This is a simple way to have some peaceful time just for you.

8.      Look at Old Photos. Bring out some old photos from your childhood or the photos from a fun trip you took. Remembering some of your treasured moments through photographs will make you smile and relax for sure.

9.      Play Board Games. When was the last time you played your favorite board game? Dust off the old Monopoly or Scrabble, prepare some snacks, and play a few games with your family. It'll be fun for all!

10.  Daydream. Allow your mind to wander and dream. Escape to where you'd like to travel one day. Think about what your life will be like in the next 5, 10, or 15 years and write these thoughts down in a journal for you to read later.

Endless Possibilities

These are just 10 simple ideas when it comes to relaxing the zero cost way. Stay creative and remember that it's okay to waste time every now and then. You can either hang around doing some self-reflection, or you can hang out with friends or family, whatever it is, do something fun!

7 Tips For Dealing With Frustration

Many people respond to frustration by getting angry, giving up, or indulging in other self-destructive behaviors such as abuse of food, alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. Expressing and dealing with frustration constructively requires several key components.

These ideas can help reduce the frustration in your day-to-day life as well as help you react patiently and peacefully:

1.      Establish mutual respect. You should have a mutual respect for all people involved, even those with differing opinions than your own. Everyone is entitled to his or her own voice and you’ll waste precious time if you’re frustrated by every differing opinion.

2.      Have a clear awareness of your own needs, thoughts, and feelings. Discover who you are as a person rather than mimicking someone else’s opinions and thoughts.

3.      Learn the difference between surface and primary needs. In other words, is this frustration about one of your basic needs not being met, or is it merely due to a less significant, secondary need? What’s preventing you from meeting this need?

4.      Be aware of what you can and cannot control. Some causes of frustration are beyond your control and therefore there’s no purpose in wasting energy on them. Instead, use that energy to cope with the situation and move on.

5.      Communicate constructively. Be able to communicate your own personal boundaries and needs calmly and respectfully without guilt or shame. This should not involve raising your voice or swearing. Rather, learn to speak up so your personal needs are met.

6.      Avoid feeling responsible for the behavior of others. Everyone has his or her own free will and you can’t force someone to do something. They make their own decisions and a reasonable adult will take responsibility for their own actions. Remember: only you can control your actions and no one can make you do something against your will.

7.      Determine the cause. By identifying the cause of your hurt or frustration without placing blame, you’ll loosen the grips of frustration.

Create More Peace and Less Stress

The majority of us live stressful and hectic lives. It seems that we're busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and never have enough time to accomplish what we need to. Whether it's your boss demanding overtime, your children needing your constant focus, or your spouse requesting your attention, every day seems like a whirlwind.

You love your family and need your job, but chances are, you tend to neglect yourself in the interim. It's extremely important that you don't let this happen. Put aside some time each and every day to make YOU a priority.

With a bit of creative thinking and time management, there are ways to find peace in your daily chaos. When you turn off the outside chaos, it gives you a chance to revel in all that is good and right with your world. And when you do this, you emerge with renewed energy and a fresh new attitude!

Follow these tips to enjoy more peace in your life:

1.      Read a good book. If you're one of many who enjoy reading, this may be just what you need. You can spend some time immersed in a different place or time, which will help you regain your calm. If you have a hard time focusing for long periods of time, try an audio book instead.

2.      Listen to uplifting music. Music has always had wonderful and mysterious powers. It's used to calm children, the elderly, and even animals during times of stress and angst. Play music that appeals to you. Dance, sing along, or just sit back and listen to its beautiful melody.

3.      Reflect and meditate. Focus on everything that's good and right with your life. Think of those you love and what you hope for them in the future. Think about your own future as well and what you hope to achieve in your lifetime.

·         Close your eyes, sit in a comfortable chair, or lie down on your bed. Block out all sources of stress and think only positive thoughts.

4.      Enjoy some family time. Spending time with those you love is often a great stress reliever. Choose a fun activity that you can all enjoy. You may want to play a board game or pop some popcorn and watch a movie together.

·         It really doesn't matter what you do as long as you can have some fun and relax together.

5.      Get some assistance from the experts. Many noted authors have written invaluable books on the topics of de-stressing and de-cluttering your life. You can even purchase these books in an audio format and listen to them during your commute.

·         When you're stuck in traffic, rather than getting upset, why not turn this time into a way to de-stress?

6.      Slow down. Take your time, stop and smell the roses, and listen to the birds chirp. Everything you need so desperately to accomplish will still be there waiting for you five minutes later. It's a beautiful world out there! Do everything you can to make sure you enjoy every minute of it.

Use these tips every day to help you discover all the beautiful and wondrous things in your life and you'll also find peace in your chaos!