The Truth About Affirmations and How to Make Them Work for You
If you’re new to affirmations, you’ve picked a good time to get started. These positive statements can be powerful. I’ve seen them make an impact in my life and many of the moms I know. Daily affirmations for moms are a great way to not lose your cool when you step on cat puke and see that little Zoe cut her own hair.
I want to talk about the woo aspect of all of this and tell you that affirmations are not just for people who dig crystals and incense. In fact, I think of affirmations as a way to take control of my inner dialogue and steer it towards a positive space. I find left to my own devices and without direction, my brain throughs up thoughts and ideas on repeat, but there aren’t always welcome or helpful.
A recent study confirmed the effectiveness of affirmations. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that people under high stress did about 50% worse on a problem solving test. However, when they used a brief self-affirmation first, they did just as well as the other participants.
I want to guide you through the benefits of affirmations AND how to get the most out of a practice of daily affirmations for moms. My jam is talking to you moms because I deeply feel the need for a forgiving space for moms. Using affirmations for mothers is a great first step in taking the temperature down on your own feelings about your abilities and your experience as a mom.
Not a single mom came out knowing it all or having it all seem easy. The problems started when we stopped sharing with each other and started tearing each other down. Then we started tearing ourselves down.
I truly believe that when you are kinder to yourself you will be kinder to the people you love and the strangers you meet. Positive affirmations for moms help us to refocus on what matters instead of stewing about what doesn’t.
Consider the Benefits of Affirmations:
- Adopt a growth mindset. In addition to overcoming stress, affirmations can also help you learn from your mistakes. If you’ve ever met someone really negative, you’ll probably notice that they are incredibly inflexible. There is only a single answer to a problem or way to do things. This leads to lots of negativity that seeps from that person. Affirmations help promote flexible thinking that makes it easier see different solutions, spot your errors, and form new habits.
- Feel better. When we begin to direct that inner voice it can be relief. Skillful self-talk cheers you up instantly. It’s like giving yourself a hug (instead of a beatdown that many of us moms have been doing for a long time).
- Enjoy better relationships. It’s easy to slip into defensiveness when you feel tense. I find using affirmations and mantras help me to take the emotional temperature down in stressful situations. I also find I have a little more compassion for the other person when I remind myself that they are feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or tired and this moment is not about me. Affirmations give you a more constructive method for dealing with difficult issues so you can remain open to what others have to say.
- Protect your physical health. Chronic stress triggers inflammation and interferes with your metabolism. Studies suggest that simply relaxing reduces your risk for many serious health conditions, including obesity.
- Draw on your strengths. Maybe you excel as at cooking, but struggle with dealing with homework drama. Affirmations remind you of your most important strengths and help build your confidence in weaker areas.
- Take them everywhere. Your kiddos may look at you funny if you interrupt a trip to drop them off at practice to get a massage. On the other hand, you can recite uplifting messages out loud or silently wherever you go.
- Discover more meaning. Most importantly, affirmations welcome more meaning into your life. You’ll be more mindful of your choices and in the end how your actions contribute to fulfilling your purpose.
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Learn a Few Easy Rules about Affirmations:
- Time it right. Prepare yourself for challenging tasks. Perform an affirmation before you give a presentation or depart on a long flight. As a result, you might find that you are performing the task better than expected because you primed yourself for success.
- Clarify your values. You can apply affirmations to any area of your life, from baking a cake to putting out forest fires. Affirmations have the greatest impact when you tie them to your top priorities, whether that’s your family and friends or world peace. This is why daily affirmations for moms seem like a natural fit to me.
- Write it all down. Recording your statements in a journal makes them feel more concrete. Spend about five minutes jotting your thoughts down. Identify what matters most to you and figure out the reasons behind your values. My mentor likes to call this paper thinking.
- Take supporting actions. Naturally, your behavior needs to match your words. If it’s important for you to be a great tennis player, work on your backhand. To care for sick animals, enroll in veterinary school. To be a mom that is present, you need to make sure you are taking care of yourself so that you can truly to connect with your kids.
- Use a combination of resources. Blend your affirmations in with other source of assistance and encouragement. Devote time to spiritual practices or talk with a friend about a conflict to get their perspective. Always keep in mind that you only have control of your actions and so your discussion needs to focus on what you can do in an area of conflict.
- Develop a strong intention. Forceful wishes create mighty affirmations. Reflect on your motivation and give your full attention to what you’re saying. Engage all your senses to produce a vivid experience. If you’re trying to grow your own vegetables, imagine how they’ll look and taste. Visualizations provide mental rehearsal and your brain actually doesn’t know the difference between doing something and visualizing.
- Be sincere. Analyze your affirmations to be sure they feel authentic for you. Go ahead and proclaim you’re a top salesperson if you really believe it. Otherwise, you may want to build up gradually by praising yourself for each call or visit you make. My mentor refers to this as creating ladder thoughts. This can be done by adding phrases to the beginning or end of a phrase. For example, I like to add I’m open to believing I can achieve this goal easily.
Affirmations can lead to exciting breakthroughs, whether you want to lose weight or improve your relationships or have a better relationship with yourself.
If you want to start your practice of daily affirmations for moms, grab this guide with a few thoughts to get you started.
