Affirmations are becoming more and more commonplace, and people are practicing it and talking about it, which is fantastic. The idea of standing in front of a mirror and talking to yourself may still sound silly in the beginning, but the life-changing impact it can have on someone is phenomenal.

When I decided to take up this practice I actually started away from a mirror. I felt ashamed to look at myself and make so many positive statements about myself. So for me I started doing this just speaking aloud with my eyes closed, almost like a practice run before telling me face-to-face. But I didn’t experience the life-changing results that everyone had been talking about until I did stand in front of the dreaded mirror. Now I couldn’t do it anywhere else!

What are affirmations?

Put simply, they are positive statements about yourself that you want to be true. So for example, to be happy with your body (even if you are currently on that diet or going to the gym to improve your aesthetic) you may say “I am beautiful as I am”.

Each statement must be in the present tense to make them truths for now as well, which is probably the hardest part of making an affirmation. I struggled with this concept as I felt most things were “a work in progress”. How could I say it were true now, when I knew full well it wasn’t? But that is the power of affirmations right there. In saying it is true helped me believe it to be true, and therefore my life was no longer “a work in progress” but satisfactory, even excellent at times.

Writing affirmations

You can look up affirmations on google or pintrest if you want some inspiration, or even a pre-written list of statements. However, having practiced this for a few months now I believe writing your own make them more real and true to you. It also gives you the opportunity to use your own tone of voice rather than someone elses.

When starting, think about all the things you want to be true for you. Here is a list to help get you started:

• content with your body
• happy with your job
• happy in your relationship
• you’re a good mother, sister, lover etc
• you have control of your finances
• you are eating healthy

Remember to put all your statements in present tense as this is the only way they will work. It doesn’t have to be a long list either. You may choose to work on one part of your life at a time and therefore only have one statement. I sit down every month to write a new list, as I know there will be things I will no longer need to say as I now believe them to be true. This is my current list.

So you have your list. Now what???

This is the difficult bit… Find some quiet time to be in front of a mirror. It doesn’t matter where or how big the mirror is, as long as you are alone. I still find laying in the bath with a handheld mirror to still be my preferred place. No one is likely to disturb me when I’m in the bath which is the key to this.

The most important and difficult part of this entire process is looking yourself in the eye and saying each statement aloud. To say “I am beautiful” when you have always said to yourself “if only I could change this” or “I just need to lose a bit more weight” or “I’ll be happy when I’m a size 10” is hard. To remove all these statements and just say “I am beautiful!” is just not easy.

When you have done it once, you will feel uncomfortable. Recognise these feelings and accept them. You have never told yourself such powerful statements in the present tense before. But when you read the same list the following day you will notice these uncomfortable feelings will begin to reduce. The more often you do it then the less uncomfortable you will feel and the more you will start to believe in yourself. The statements become true to you not just something you are trying to believe. Your mindset and outlook will change.

As your mindset changes you will notice that your physical actions in your life will also change. Sticking with the “I am beautiful” statement; as you begin to believe this you may find you wont want to reach for that bar of chocolate in the evening, or want to get out and do some exercise. You wont be so body conscious when at the gym or the local swimming pool because you want to keep this new beautiful you.

Good luck on your new adventure to a more positive you!