Start your day with positive affirmations

If you start each day with a feeling of dread, it may be time to consider an attitude change. Positive affirmations are not just for yogis or other spiritual types — they can be used by anyone to reverse negative thoughts or reinforce positive ones.

Whether you realize it or not, you’re constantly using affirmations to validate behaviors you’ve learned over the course of your life to provide reassurance that you’ve made the right decision. Affirmations can also fool our minds into believing something even when it’s not real. For example, when you cry during a movie, it’s because you are empathizing with the characters on screen and affirming their experiences as if they were your own.

Tricky, right? Rather than using that mental energy to dwell on the negative, use it to create a positive outlook through affirmations.

Beginning the day with a positive affirmation can help set the tone for a good rest of the day, no matter what comes your way. Try these steps to get started:

  1. Create a list of negative attributes and write them down.

You can’t start to make a positive change until you know exactly what it is you want to affirm. To determine your affirmations, take a sheet of paper and divide it in half. On the left side write negative thoughts you have about yourself or your life, then write a corresponding positive affirmation for each on the right side. For example:

  • “I’m lonely all the time” to “I take pleasure in solitude.”
  • “I’m never going to find a new job” to “I play a big role in the success of my career.”
  1. Say the affirmation(s) out loud each morning

Put the power of positive thinking to work for you before breakfast. Speak each affirmation at least once as soon as you can after waking up. If possible, repeat throughout the day, especially when a difficult situation arises.

  1. Find someone to repeat the affirmation with you

While we all can be our own cheerleaders, positive affirmations only get better when you recruit someone to help you along the way. Ask a friend or loved one to say the phrases with you, especially when things get tough. If you do not have someone to help with this, try saying the affirmations in front of a mirror so you can see your reflection as you are speaking for reinforcement.