Words of Affirmation- Part 1: My Affirmations
To say that, “Words have Power” is a VAST understatement. I don’t think that I’m telling you something you don’t already know. I could go on and on and on and ON….about the power of written word verses spoken word verse texted word… AND THEN, I could talk about positive vs negative speak. O. M. G. But, when I talk about these things, I'm mostly talking about communication between two people. What I want to know is how you talk to yourself…
How do you speak to yourself on the daily?
“Ugh! I’m too fat for these jeans…”
“I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached!”
“Way to go, Lindsay. Taking one for the team!”
I want you to take the “I” or “me” out of those statements & pretend like you’re saying that to another person…..Can I tell you something, sweet friend? YOU ARE A PERSON! Those statements could really be harmful to someone so ABSO-freakin-LUTELY they are going to be harmful to you!
What would it look like for you to speak words of glory, growth, & goals over yourself in the morning? (Well, Lindsay…I will sure as sugar look like an idiot talking to myself in the mirror!) <- There you go with that negativity again! PS I get what you’re saying there, and I felt weird about it, too. BUT, I want you to humor me…work through this with me and then you can tell me I’m crazy later! (but you’ll be crazy too, because you’ll be the one talking to a computer screen. )
The power of Affirmations in my life have made a GIANT impact on:
How I see myself. By the words I speak (OUT LOUD, remember…) I remind myself whose I am, why I’m valuable, who I work for, and why & how I do it. Start speaking to yourself like, “I am in charge of my own schedule and I tell my time where to go,” or “I will do everything in my power to keep my priorities in order: Faith, Family, Work.”
How my children see me. If you are self-deprecating, soon you’ll start hearing your children saying those things about you too. “Oh, mom…you’re so forgetful!” or even worse, they start talking to themselves that way. I heard my daughter say she was too fat for a pair of jeans the other day…she’s 6! It wasn’t that she was too fat; they were just too small! Let your children hear you speak your words of affirmation to yourself. They need to hear that you find yourself worthy & valuable. In the same way you give your husband and kids permission to cut you down by speaking negativity to yourself, LIKEWISE you give them permission to BUILD YOU UP with your impact-ful POWER STATEMENTS!
So, what does an affirmation look like? It’s short & to the point. You have to be able to remember it & say it out loud quickly & concisely. To get a framework started, consider answering these questions:
What is something I rock at/love about myself?
What is the first negative thought I have about myself?
What is a goal I want to achieve?
Who do I want to achieve/rock at life for?
WRITE THIS STUFF DOWN!
Can I be a little vulnerable & share mine with you?I am exactly who God created me to be.
I am a do-er & a thinker.
I push beyond my inner-struggle of finding my worth in others,
& know full well that I am complete in Christ.
I am not a perfect mom, but I am a PRESENT mom.
I am a supportive wife to an achiever of a husband.
Together, we put Christ at the center of our marriage & our home.
With Christ as our core power-source, we are unstoppable.
When I refresh my affirmations or create something new, I write it down as I'm journaling for a couple weeks until I can write it without turning back the page to copy. I keep a copy by my mirror in the bathroom specifically because I have to LOOK at myself there every day. My girls and I speak (OUT LOUD) our affirmations EVERY MORNING! (Teaser Part 2 will be their affirmations) I help them with theirs, & they help me with mine.
Will you take the challenge? Will you write out your affirmations? Will you speak them OUT LOUD to yourself every morning for 2 weeks? THEN will you come back here & comment your feelings?
WORDS ARE POWERFUL! So why on God’s green earth are we not speaking POWER into ourselves each morning? Sweet mamas, you know as well as I do, those day when the power is gone by about 8:15a, that DIVINE POWER is about the only fuel left in our tank.
FILL UP my sweet friend….Every morning. Fill up