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I end a lot of my posts with “it’s a good day to have a good day,” and I honestly can’t remember where that came from. I started saying it months ago, and since then it’s caught on amongst my friends and even my coworkers. Even on, if not especially on, days when I don’t believe it’s true, I say it anyway until it becomes true— that’s how positive affirmations work. This one has become a life motto of mine.
Reciting, reading, and/or writing positive affirmations is an incredibly helpful self-care tool. You can scoff if you’d like— I scoffed too before I gave it a try. “Fake it til you make it” has a lot of truth to it. Your self-talk can influence your actual perception of yourself and the world around you, so if you’re aware that your self-talk is inherently negative, why not make a conscious effort to change the dialogue?
In my daily morning pages, I include at least four positive affirmations. The last one is always “it’s a good day to have a good day” just to set that tone for the day. It helps me remember that even if something crappy happens in the morning, I can always reset and make the rest of the day worthwhile. If something blows up at work at 2pm, it’s no big deal because I can still have a good evening.
This one little positive affirmation has been life-changing, so there’s no reason why I (or you) should doubt the power of others.
I’ve been on a weight loss journey for longer than I care to admit, off and on. My wonderful coach has helped me lose 25lbs so far, and affirmations and mottos have helped a lot with that. If I want to binge on buttercream icing or cookie dough, one of his mottos is “what do you want more?” Sure, at the moment I retort with “buttercream icing,” but I know the real answer, and so does he.
Some of the benefits of positive affirmations!
Words have the power to change us, and it’s our decision whether we’ll let them change us for better or for worse. I could call myself fat, stupid, unloveable, and my subconscious would begin to believe those things, and in turn, cause me to behave in ways that might make those things true. Instead, I choose to call myself beautiful, intelligent, and loveable among other positive things. My mindset has improved so much. This simple shift of habit has helped my mental health as well. There’s nothing like positivity to talk back to depression and anxiety.
That isn’t to say that it’s a cure for these mental illnesses though. Positive affirmations are a means of treating symptoms.
Mindtools.com describes many of the benefits of positive affirmations, and how to use them to assist you in overcoming self-sabotage as well as negative beliefs. In a recent post, I discussed how we learn things from our parents and other adults in our lives as we’re growing up, and sometimes the lessons we learned need to be unlearned. Affirmations are a great way to tackle those too.
For instance, if your parents were always fighting about money, you may have developed a subconscious fear of money that leads you to spend it as soon as you get it. You’re scared to hold onto it because you’ve given it a negative connotation. For a situation like this, I’d suggest using affirmations akin to:
“Money is a valuable resource, and it does me so much good.”
“Money comes to me easily, and I use it to better my life and the lives of others.”
“The successful life I deserve requires money. Money is an integral tool.”
If these words sound like wishful thinking, it’s because that’s exactly what they are. You want to believe these things, and you wish them to be true. You wish, therefore they are.
Positive affirmations aren’t limited to one or two things
This concept can be applied to any area of your life— relationship, education, career, you name it. If your beliefs are standing in the way of your happiness, this tool can change your beliefs. It can help you to get out of your own way, and stay out.
I’ve made some semblance of an effort to go after my dreams in the past, but I’ve never stuck with it. My justification for giving up was because it was too hard for me because I’m not smart enough, or good enough, or other people were better and therefore deserved it more. I’ve since learned that this way of thinking is utter bullshit. It took a lot of willpower for me to not write “udder bullshit” just now… but I’m trying to keep this serious!
For years, I stood in my own way not because of self-doubt but because of fear of change. In much the same way that I think of writers’ block, my self-sabotage was based in fear. Fear of success, fear of change, fear of the unknown… Now, I’m still scared, but I’m excited. The imposter syndrome and self-worth issues are their own thing, but my future as a badass writer making a living helping others achieve their dreams is a bigger, far more important thing.
Final Thoughts
Sure, putting in the work is hard. Spending hours on hours researching, writing, creating content, eating better, moving your body, believing in yourself, saying no to alcohol or drugs, leaving a relationship that has gone stagnant— all of these things are fucking hard…
… But so is living in the shadows. Knowing that you have so much to give to the world, and that you could change someone’s life for the better and yet not acting on it is also hard. Spending your whole life doing what someone else told you that you should do is hard. Staying overweight and watching others go on beautiful hikes, feel good about themselves, and living their best lives is hard.
Choose your hard, my loves.
Choose the hard that will best nurture your soul and bring you happiness.
You deserve happiness.
You are worthy.
You’re enough.
You are loveable.
It’s a good day to have a good day. ❤️