The things I say to myself

I’m 20, I’ve just given up drinking and drugs and I’m starting to move in a new direction in my life. It was at this time I discovered the power that knowledge gave me and so I joined the library and started reading!  One of the first books I ever got out was ‘The Greatest Salesman in the World’ by Og Mandino (that’s a great name!) This book is like a biblical story about a man who learns the lesson of how to be a great salesman. In the second half of the book there were seven long affirmations that you had to read every morning and night for six months. Because I believed anything a book would tell me, I went ahead and started reading these accent scrolls’. 

Now when I look back at this book I find it a bit corny but it did teach me the value of having daily affirmations and although I have moved away from Og’s material I have kept the habit up of using these. 

The affirmations I use seem to have the ability to pop up in my head when I may be challenged in one way or another. An example of this is the saying ‘if I don’t have something nice to say about someone then don’t say anything at all’. I’m human and there are times when I struggle with other people and may become critical of them or their behavior. But when I have been reading my affirmations this saying comes into my head and I instantly become aware of my words and it makes me think and reflect about my actions at this moment. I normally stop my criticizing.  

The difference between the 20 year old me and me today is that I’m no longer looking for books to set my affirmations. Over the years I have created two pages of them that I read every morning that are based on what is important to me in my life. I don’t have any scientific evidence to prove the value of affirmations but in my experience they have helped me stay true to myself in all different types of situations. 

You may not want to have two pages that you have to read every morning but I encourage you to create one or two to try. Create them in a way that is real to you, for example I have a friend who has created superpowers that he uses for his Affirmations. It’s all about doing what feels right for you. 

Here are my affirmations that I read every day, let me know if you have any yourself: