How often in our day to day lives do we say something that when we later reflect on it we wish we had not said. Or how often do
we send negative messages to ourselves, yet we would never say those same
messages to our loved ones?
In our daily lives we are influenced by either our friends,
family members, or social media. The messages we receive and take in often
influence how we speak about other people or speak to ourselves. As a child and
even into my college days I always struggled with tests. I would often tell
myself I wasn’t going to get a good grade, or if I got a bad grade on a test I
would tell myself I was stupid. It was not until later in my college experience
when I began to change the message I said to myself. I would always repeat
“I’ll be happy with a passing grade.” Once I began changing that inner message I began to do better with my tests. I hadn’t changed my study skills or how I
interacted in class, I just changed a negative message I was telling myself to a positive one.
Sometimes it is hard to switch a negative message that we
send to ourselves or to someone we care about to a positive one. Often we have
to look within ourselves and see why we say what we say. One way we can start to change the messages are with positive
affirmations. Positive affirmations are reminders or statements to ourselves
that can encourage or motivate ourselves or others. Affirmations can be as simple as a message on
your bathroom mirror or the screensaver on your phone. Some people have a
pattern of where they say the same affirmation every night before bed. I have
provided links below of examples of positive affirmations.
Carmen Stites, LPC