Self-Affirmation: Strategies to Bulletproof Your Mind

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Affirmations are powerful tools to embed messages into your mind and body. Unfortunately, many times, the mental messages we send ourselves are negative, self-defeating, or self-destructive.

You send yourself thousands of messages throughout the day, consciously and unconsciously. Those messages affirm or confirm a belief about yourself or your world.

The word “affirm” means to state as a fact or assert strongly. When you repeatedly feed yourself a message, that message takes root deeper. The messages that bombard your brain affect your feelings, motivation, thoughts, and actions.

At any time, you can choose to change your behaviours by changing the content of your messages.

What Are Self-Affirmations

Self-affirmations are powerful, energizing self-directives designed to take charge of your messaging. By affirming precisely what you want, you purposefully direct the conversation and shape the person you desire to be.

Self-talk is a verbal diet that affects your mind and physiology. If you consciously pay attention to your mental diet, you will dramatically improve your overall health and ability to accomplish your goals. In essence, self-affirmations are a cognitive dietary supplement that enhances your overall well-being.

Crafting Empowering Affirmations

Know precisely what you want. You can’t hit the bullseye if you don’t clearly see the target. Be very specific about the change you are looking to create.
Be concise. Affirmations should be short and to the point. An affirmation is not a pep talk but a very succinct self-directive. Ideally, you should be able to memorize your affirmations in a short amount of time.
Create affirmations in the present tense. When you write an affirmation in the future tense, you merely express hope for what might be. Reciting an affirmation in the present tense is tremendously empowering. So rather than “I will lose 15 pounds,” try “I am fit and strong.” Instead of “I will finish in the Top 10,” say, “I am a Top-10 finisher.”
Frame affirmation in positive terms. Steer clear of stating what you want to avoid. For example, “I will not fall apart in this marathon” can be changed into “I am a strong finisher.” The goal of affirmations is to create a clear vision of what you want to be or how you want to act.
Make them believable. If your affirmations are not realistic, your mind will dismiss them as foolish wishes. Unrealistic affirmations ultimately de-motivate and become obstacles, not assets. Instead of “I beat every opponent I face,” you can say, “I outwork my competition and am laser-focused on my goals.”

How to Effectively Use your Affirmations

Once you have crafted your personal, positive, powerful messages, it’s time to put your affirmations to use. Here are some tips to power up your affirmations.

Recite Regularly. By repeating your affirmations frequently, you train your mind and body on how to respond in future circumstances. Change of any kind requires repetition. If needed, schedule time throughout the day to repeat your affirmations.
Stick to it. To get the most bang for your buck, be consistent and patient. Change takes time. Just because you don’t see immediate results doesn’t mean affirmations aren’t having an impact, stirring just beneath the surface.
Be Intentional. Remind yourself why you initially created your affirmations and the changes you are looking to bring about in your life. Affirmations themselves won’t work if you don’t act in alignment with your goals. It is important to be the change you are trying to make.
Feel Them. When you recite your affirmations, do so with feelings. The goal is to inspire yourself towards action. You can amplify the effects of affirmations by animatedly reciting them out loud.
Post Affirmations. Write your affirmations on Post-It notes and place them in areas of your house as reminders.
Visualize. Take 5-10 minutes before bed to visualize the impact these changes will have on your life. Think about how you would feel and act differently.

10 Bulletproof Affirmations

Try out the following affirmations for starters:

I outwork my competition
I am committed to working past my comfort zone in training.
I prioritize my mental and physical well-being.
I am psyched to overcome every challenge that comes my way.
I am committed to building the habit of _________.
I am growing my future by putting in the work today.
Today, I am moving in the direction of my goals. I act boldly and make significant progress in achieving my potential.
I am fit and healthy. Nothing can stop me.
I believe in myself and my ability to achieve my dreams.
I determine my future.

Coach Michael

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