Have you ever had a friend who, no matter what the situation, encourages you to look at the “up-side”? Often they not only encourage you to look on the bright side, but they walk their talk by doing it themselves. Have you noticed anything about this friend, or if you are like me, these friends? With my friends, I notice that overall, they handle challenges with grace, and have a seemingly intrinsic confidence that everything is working out fine, even if it looks like a fecal hurricane at the moment. I also notice that everything works out fine for them, often far better than fine. That is because the things we focus on are the things we attract into our lives. Some people know this philosophy as The Law of Attraction. This term was first used in 1906 in the book “Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World” by author and publisher William Walker Atkinson. The concept has gained attention and respect over the years. One hundred years later, with the movie “The Secret”, and an endorsement by Oprah Winfrey, the Law of Attraction became the focus of worldwide conversation and study. I first stumbled across the term the “Law of Attraction” in 2007 or 2008 with millions of other people. For me, I picked up a book that my roommate had on the back of the toilet. I don’t recall the name of the book, but I was delighted (and dismayed for financial reasons) that someone had put my beliefs handily into a book. Although I didn’t have a name for it,  I have lived my live in adherence to the philosophy of the Law of Attraction for most of my life and see evidence of its truth throughout my adult life. I must admit that not only am I surrounded by the type of people I mentioned above,  I am one. When I look at my life, I am sometimes amazed at what I have accomplished and the path I took to do so. It is not that my path has been particularly arduous, the opposite in fact is true. Like many people I have faced challenges, but I have always been able to visualize a way through or a positive outcome.

The last sentence of the last paragraph is truly the first step to creating the life of my dreams. Even as a child, no matter the situation, I could clearly see a positive outcome. I could rarely see the exact path from dream to fruition but I could always see the outcome I wanted clearly.  Often things worked out and often the way I visualized them in the end. I have learned to let go of the time frame and stay focused on the goal. It would be arrogant of me to imply that I could teach you the entirety of the Law of Attraction and it’s concepts in a single blog. While I have been living this way all of my life, I continue to learn daily. I hope that your lessons will be as long and fruitful as mine have been, and that this is but a stepping stone in your path.  I will be exploring different aspects of the Law of Attraction in future blogs. For today I want to talk about the power of affirmations in manifesting the life of your dreams.

When asked about goals people often focus on what they don’t want. “I don’t want to be fat.” or “ I don’t want to eat junk food.” or “ I want to give up being so negative.”, they say. The challenge with this is that they are focused on what they don’t want.  Have you ever heard the Henry Ford quote “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right”? Loosely paraphrased it states that whatever we tell ourselves we are, we become. When we are focusing on what we don’t want, we are focusing on what we don’t want. If we attract what we focus on, and we focus on what we don’t want, we attract what we don’t want, and then wonder why we don’t achieve our goals. Are you confused yet? So are a lot of folks. They spend a lot of time identifying goals that are based in negative desire and wonder why they don’t see positive results. When we are affirming a goal, it is important that we write and speak/sign our goals in the present (as if it is happening already) and the positive (as if the goal has been successfully achieved). Instead of “I want to drink less soda” try something like “I drink 8 glasses of water daily”. Let’s look at why the language is so important. When we say “I want…”it affirms that you are lacking something. The word want implies that there is something you do not have that you want. “Want” can be a weasel word. It can allow one to weasel out of the goal if it becomes too complicated. It prepares a way for responsibility to be shifted to another from oneself. Another problem with this sentence as an affirmation is that success is hard to measure. Even a sip of soda is less so at what point does the “less” equal success? Perhaps the most egregious flaw with this affirmation is that there is no affirmative action. I can see a desire (want), but not the action. If I don’t drink soda, what will I drink? One can save a lot of time and energy simply stating what they will replace soda with as if it is already true.   “I drink 8 glasses of water a day” is a strong empowered statement. The goal is measureable, so not only is initial success easily measured, but increased success can be monitored easily. Even the affirmation “I limit my soft drinks to one 12 ounce can a day” offers a measureable goal, and uses empowering language. In both of these affirmations there is an action verb, “drink”, “limit”, one knows what to do.

I gave the example of soft drinks, because so many of us have dietary goals, we seek to achieve. I use the same formula for all of my affirmations whether professional, health or relationship goals. I write my affirmations in the present, in other words, as if they are already true. I only use positive language in my affirmations, insuring that I am focusing on the outcome I want, rather than a negative outcome. I organized my affirmations by writing them on 3×5 cards, attached with locking rings. I found the cards, already attached to the rings in an office supply store near the other index cards. I used brightly colored pens, because I like pretty. Make your affirmation cards yours, design them however you like. The more you like them, the more you will use them. I took a picture of each of mine with my phone and put them in their own album called “Affirmations”. This way I always have them and they don’t take up extra space. Here are some examples of my affirmations.

“I am financially stable and independent. I only spend what I can afford to. I pay all of my bills on time. I save regularly.” When I started this affirmation, I was living on disability and was not saving but knew I wanted to be. They say in the rooms of recovery “Fake it till you make it.” I knew that if I told myself daily that I do this, I would work to make it true.

“I drink plenty of water and eat healthy foods. I am healthy and energetic as a result.” Although the exact amount of water I drink is unclear, the measure-ability is in the second half of the affirmation.

“My body heals itself of injury, illness and disease leaving me physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally healthy and energetic.” I avoid synthetic medication as much as possible because I personally respond better with naturopathy. One part of that is affirmation and visualization

 

“I am toned, fit and healthy with energy to exercise daily” When I said this I was fit, but I am more fit now and healthier than I have ever been. I keep this affirmation in the rotation because I want to remind myself to maintain my fitness.

 

I could certainly give many examples of affirmations related to my life. I am more interested in hearing some of your goals and helping you to write your affirmations in the present and the positive. Please leave a comment with an affirmation or a goal. If you struggle to write in the present and positive, just write what comes to mind and we will all learn together from one another. I am a big fan of community learning!