Who’s heard of Positive Affirmations? Most people? Who does them? Not so many. Some find them a bit cringey maybe? Anyone here that does them find them useful?
Science backs you up. According to researchers, studies on the practice of positive affirmations reveal that affirmations can improve our ability to problem-solve while stressed, reduce the occurrence of defensive responses hindering our growth, and even prevent depression.
Clearly, the benefits of positive affirmations are not all in our heads. Pun intended.
How do they work?
Positive affirmations are almost as easy to define as they are to practice. Put simply, they are positive phrases or statements used to challenge negative or unhelpful thoughts. Practicing positive affirmations can be extremely simple, and all you need to do is pick a phrase and repeat it to yourself.
You may choose to use positive affirmations to motivate yourself, encourage positive changes in your life, or boost your self-esteem. If you frequently find yourself getting caught up in negative self-talk, positive affirmations can be used to combat these often subconscious patterns and replace them with more adaptive narratives.
There are no hard and fast rules about timing or frequency when it comes to practicing self-affirmations. Affirmations can be repeated up to three to five times daily to reinforce the positive belief. Writing your affirmations down in a journal and practicing them in the mirror is a good method for making them more powerful and effective.
Examples
1. I choose to be happy.
2. My life is taking place right here, right now.
3. I’m gifted with and surrounded by amazing friends and family.
4. I opt to rise above negative feelings and ditch negative thoughts.
5. I am resilient, strong, and brave, and I can’t be destroyed.
6. I am responsible for looking after me.
7. By being myself, I bring happiness to other people.
8. My goals and desires are as worthwhile as everybody else’s.
9. Through courage and hard work, I can achieve anything that I set my mind to.
10. I’m fine with who I am, and I love who I am becoming.
There are thousands of examples, just find some or come up with ones that resonate with you, and you are comfortable saying to yourself.
BNI and Positive Affirmations
Yes, groan, there is always a link to BNI! But think about this.. we often talk in our weekly Sales Presentation about how excellent our business is and how it we help clients. This is a positive affirmation.
Saying positive things out loud about our own business is a positive affirmation. We might not do this too often outside of BNI!
BNI offers 40 plus opportunities a year to make a positive affirmation about your business – that’s pretty awesome!
Including Positive Affirmations in your Weekly Presentations
No one likes a braggart or hearing delusional statements, but we should all be proud of our businesses, skills, services, and staff and be able to say so.
In our weekly presentations we say who we are, what we do, a story, our specific referral request AND we should, as a positive affirmation, say how and why we are good at what we do.
Examples are: we are the best builders in Auckland, our websites are the most secure, our inspection process is incredibly detailed, all our staff are fully trade certified for your peace of mind, or we are so confident about our service that we have a double your money back guarantee. These are statements about our credibility as well as positive affirmations.
Don’t be shy about how good you are! Claiming your skill, your excellence, your passion, your point of difference not only reinforces your own self-belief, but it also makes you easier to refer: “I know the pest picture framer in Auckland, he’s awesome.”
