I’m taking a new spin on affirmations to calm uncertainty, and help you dial up your “A” game.
If you’re anything like me, 2020 has been a doozy. Boredom may need a rebrand, but that doesn’t mean that the changes we’ve experienced (including heightened fear and anxiety) aren’t deserving of their bad rap.
These aren’t easy times, and just getting through the day/week/month/year has been challenging for many. The tactics we used to rely on to refuel our emotional real estate and manage our mental health aren’t necessarily available to us, which has forced us to come up with new coping mechanisms.
Lately, I’ve found that I’ve been leaning on an important practice that I learned from Louise Hay. It’s helped me both personally and professionally, and I hope that you find it useful, too.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with her work, Louise Hay is known as one of the founders of the self-help movement. Her first book, Heal Your Body, was published in 1976, long before it was fashionable to discuss the connection between the mind and body. Revised and expanded in 1988, this bestselling book was translated into 25 different languages, introducing Louise’s concepts to people in 33 countries.
I highly encourage you to look her up.
The most important lesson I learned from Louise’s revolutionary approach is the power of using affirmations to calm uncertainty and stay energized. For those of you who are new to affirmations, they consist of an empowering belief or a mantra that feels true for you. You then confidently repeat that mantra, using it as inspiration or guidance when you’re feeling stuck.
I’ve often found myself writing these affirmations on sticky notes, and it’s actually turned into a bit of a hobby. (Yes, I definitely need more hobbies.) Not only do I have these sticky notes all over my office, but often I’ll find them washed up in my sweatshirts, stuck to the bottom of my shoe or hiding on a good page in a favourite book working double duty as a bookmark.
More recently, I’ve noticed there is a secret to writing a good affirmation. The trick is to find one that has more of a universal truth rather than a targeted or topic-specific truth.
For example, in the past, if I feared losing a big client, I would lean in to the empowering belief that, “you’re going to be OK if you win or lose this client.” It helped calm my nerves because it was true. I was going to be OK either way and it reminded me that one decision in isolation doesn’t determine my ability to be content.
After years of using empowering beliefs to help me find some peace when times get tough, I’ve started to look for universal affirmations or mantras that actually tie me to my higher truth and are more tightly aligned with my life’s purpose.
I find myself saying, “I seek opportunities to work with people and organizations that can most benefit from my unique talents, background and skill set.” Though this doesn’t address how I’ll handle winning or losing a client, it ties into a bigger desire and a larger affirmation.
And the key is that those bigger desires will never change.
Those universal affirmations are in alignment with what I really want out of life. It’s about more than what is going to “get me by” in the moment.
Reminding myself that things will be OK is helpful, but using affirmations that align with my inner purpose excites me. As opposed to just calming fear, these mantras help keep me focused on the end goal. By dialling up my “A” game, I’m reminding myself to play big.
Here’s my challenge should you choose to accept it: What’s the empowering belief you need to hear right now? What’s keeping you up at night?
Think about the type of empowering belief you can lean on to help you through. Is this a temporary believe or can you dial it up? Look for a belief that will help you live life to the fullest, not just today, but everyday.
We only get one shot at this game of life so it’s important that we make the most of it.
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