Amy on Positivity

Affirm for positive reinforcement.

Negative body self-talk be gone!

Yes, let’s go into how talking kindly to yourself can see your confidence soar.

Affirmations are an important practice in my life. An affirmation is a positive word or words that strengthen you by helping you believe in the potential of an action you desire to manifest.

Affirmations make me feel good when I’m feeling low. It’s amazing how quickly you can turn around a negative thought about yourself, just by saying and truly believing a few positive words. My affirmations practice has had such a significant impact on my life because affirmations assist me to change a momentary negative mindset into a positive one.

I have to remind myself to practice daily.

I make sure of this by having affirmations around me, such as on my work desk, so that I can clearly see them a few times a day.

I have to remind myself to practise daily. I make sure of this by having affirmations around me, such as on my work desk, so that I can clearly see them a few times a day.

I love affirmations so much that I have included them on my Rose Grace Self Love Collection as swing tags!

If you can’t wait that long to purchase each product with a different self-love affirmation, you can get yourself a Self-Love 100 card deck. I made them a cute size so you can carry them around with you anywhere, or place on your mantelpiece or bathroom mirror as a constant reminder to love and be kind to yourself.

I believe affirmations work in such a way that it’s almost retraining my brain… From old self-sabotaging thoughts –self-loathing beliefs that I got into a pattern of thinking - to awareness. When I catch myself thinking like this, I affirm myself with positive and loving thoughts.

Here’s a story about how practising affirmations helped me gain self-confidence and self-esteem.

Once, I went on a first date with a guy, set up by a mutual friend. I wanted to impress so I took the time to dress up and get my hair done. I was feeling wonderful when he came to pick me up.

We arrived at the cocktail party, but as soon as we entered, he dashed off to say hello to another woman in the foyer. While waiting for what seemed like ages, I walked over to them. Without introducing me, he grabbed my arm and walked me inside the party, while inside I was feeling hurt and angry.

His behaviour didn’t change as the evening continued; in fact, it was no surprise (given my earlier experience that night) that his terrible behaviour continued. He had the worst rubberneck I had ever experienced! I get it. Men are ‘hunters’. Sure, they’re primal. And of course, who doesn’t admire beauty? It’s only natural.

But this man had no respect for me. I can see that clearly now. At the time though, I second-guessed myself all night.

Back then, I had a very low self-esteem – I said nothing until I had really had enough. I managed to find the courage to say something, but by this point, he was pretty much plastered. When I approached him about running off and leaving me on my own, he laughed it off and said I was imagining it.

He then threw it back at me, saying I was insecure and overreacting.

Can you believe I tolerated this? On a first date!

I desperately wanted a man to love me. (BTW, totally wrong mindset to have!) It wasn’t until I started to see the pattern of men I was dating that I saw the light and took control of my life. I knew there was something richer and deeper.

I was searching for more meaningful relationships and a new confident mindset started to form when I started working with affirmations and positive self-love talk.

You see, the clothing, the hair, the exterior, these things didn’t make me feel good. I thought they gave me confidence - aesthetically, yes - but they didn’t give me the skills I was searching for to boost my morale and regain my confidence and self-acceptance.

So I practised affirmations until they started to sink in.

Luckily, I was faced with only one more terrible experience. And this time, I didn’t put up with it or sulk like a little lost girl. I took action. I took a few deep breaths, remembered my affirmations, and said to myself…

I was back in control and took charge of my emotions. I didn’t just stand there and look at him chatting up another woman. I went over to a handsome man, who had been looking at me. The old Amy wouldn’t have even noticed this man staring at her, because she was too busy letting the loser distract her.

After I made the approach and had the confidence to introduce myself, guess who came running over! HA!

By repeating positive and loving words to myself, I regained my confidence slowly and truly came to believe in myself that I was lovable.

Don’t give anyone the power to take control of your emotions or make you feel terrible about yourself.

As much as any other human being, you deserve to be treated with respect and to be loved.

Self-love is your precious gift to yourself that no-one can control or have a piece of. It’s yours and you own it.

HOW TO PRACTICE AFFIRMATIONS

Now let’s look at a little how-to. You can write your own personal affirmations or purchase guides to help you, such as my self-affirmation cards, self-help books or cards.

I like to use the book You Can Heal Your Life by the queen of affirmations Louise Hay and You Can Create An Exceptional Life by Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson. These are must-reads if you are keen to learn and practice affirmations. Louise was a leader in the self-help field and the founder of publishing company Hay House.

In addition to this, I practice affirmations and having a positive mindset by reading positive and uplifting self-help books. I always like to think of a solution to a problem rather than being the victim. To me, having a positive mindset is so important to truly experience life.

Affirmations change our old negative mindset to a positive one. If we write a positive affirmation and place it somewhere we see every day, we will always be reminded to practice, and this enriches our lives in more loving ways.

As they say, practice makes perfect!

RESOURCES

Below are some books you can use to formulate your own affirmations and create a more positive mindset. I’ve also included an excerpt from the book that you can put into practice right now.

+ You Can Create An Exceptional Life by Louise Hay

Looking in the bathroom mirror, say…

Good Morning,

(your name). I love you. I really, really love you.

There are great experiences coming your way today.

You look wonderful.

You have the best smile.

Your makeup (or hair) looks perfect.

You are my ideal woman (or man).

You are having a terrific day today.