by Michaeline on June 9, 2009
Consistently exercising has been a challenge for me and I am pleased to say that I had an ‘aha’ moment about exercise the other day that I wanted to share in hopes that it will also help you.
I was walking for my cardio exercise on a nice crisp Michigan morning and thought “I am almost done with my walk and I will be able to get started with my day”. And then the moment of awareness hit me enough to make me stop short.
I have been struggling with the habit of exercise because I do not think of it as part of my usual day. It is something to get done and get out of the way so I can move on to the important stuff. No wonder consistently exercising has been a challenge for me.
So here some actions I took to change my mental message. You can use these tips as a template for any topic.
- Develop an affirmation and use it that addresses exercise as part of my lifestyle.
- Complete visioning activity that includes exercise as part of my usual day.
- Create an action plan for making exercise part of my usual day.
- Just do it.
This process can be summarized as: ask, believe and act. So what mental message has you stuck and what can you do to change it?
by Michaeline on January 27, 2009
Positive affirmations are one way to reprogram your self-talk. Positive affirmations can be thought of as self-fulfilling prophecies. In theory frequent thoughts represent goals that the subconscious mind strives to actualize. So what we most often think about (tell ourselves) comes true.
Our emotions, perceptions and behaviors are shaped by our most dominant thoughts. Here are some tips to tap into the power of positive affirmations:
- Personalize the affirmation with the words “me”, “I” or “my”. These are your aspirations not someone else’s.
- State the affirmation in the present tense. Use “I am” not “I will”.
- Make the affirmation believable so you can say them with sincerity.
- Positively state affirmations to focus on the behavior you desire (“I am” instead of “I am not”).
- Make your affirmations easy to remember and short.
- Repeat your affirmations often.
Fill your mind with positive thoughts. Let your self-talk be supportive to your goals and dreams. As you improve your self-talk, commit to changing your behaviors and actions accordingly. Changing both will support lasting success and achievement of your desires. And don’t forget that filling your mind with uplifting ideas, words and input can help you maintain a positive attitude as well.