A couple of months ago, my hubby and I introduced our girls to Cool Runnings.
Tell me you remember that movie.
Remember “Jamaica we have a bobsled team?”
It is a classic.
One of the best quotes in that movie is when Yul Brenner takes Junior to the mirror and makes him say: “I see pride! I see power! I see a bad-*** mother who don’t take no crap off of nobody!”
It’s one of the best parts in the movie, and it’s also a great example of an affirmation.
I have known about affirmations for a long time. I just thought they were too “whoo-whoo” for me. Like The Secret or the law of attraction. “Say something until it comes into being.” I never bought into that stuff.
But, then people I respected mentioned they used daily affirmations. People like Jon Acuff, Craig Groeschel, and Andy Andrews made me take a closer look at affirmations.
Affirmations are weapons we use to fight battles in our minds.
I wanted to learn how to create meaningful statements that were also powerful and effective in changing the way I think.
After a bit of trial and error, I came up with 5 steps.
5-Step Process for Creating Affirmations
1. Identify your areas for improvement.
Take some quiet time to pray or journal. Write down your bad habits. What are the negative thoughts that cause them?
What are your limiting beliefs, aka things you know are true but struggle to believe?
What lies are you often tempted to believe? Many times these are about being not good enough.
Write these things down in short sentences.
2. Research Bible verses and quotes.
Use Google or YouVersion search to find verses and quotes that can replace your negative thoughts.
Find a quiet time to do this. There aren’t perfect answers, but there are specific truths that will speak to you if you are still enough to hear them.
Let’s work out an example to show you what I mean.
One of the negative beliefs I struggle with is thinking I am not a good mom. I tell people that I’m better suited to the business world; mothering doesn’t come natural to me.
So, the first step is to call out that lie.
I am the perfect mom for my kids. God wouldn’t have given me children if He thought I shouldn’t be a mom.
Now, let’s find a verse or quote that supports that truth.
I really like Psalm 127:3 in The Passion Translation: “Children are God’s love-gift; they are heaven’s generous reward.”
3. Rewrite each statement to make it personal to you.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when writing your affirmations.
- Keep each one short.
You probably won’t want to read an affirmation aloud very often if it is a paragraph long. Try to keep them to one sentence. - Start with I.
Think about phrases like I am, I can, I love, I trust, I act, and I have. - Use a present tense verb.
An affirmation that starts with the words “I will” isn’t very powerful. It just sounds like another New Year’s resolution.
So, for my affirmation about motherhood, I wrote: “These girls are God’s love-gift to me, and He has given me everything I need to love them well.”
4. Post them somewhere visible.
Don’t just leave your affirmations on your phone or in a notebook somewhere. You’ll forget about them and they will never see the light of day again.
What places do you spend the most time? The kitchen, your desk, your car, your bathroom?
Post a copy of your affirmations in those places because the visual reminder will prompt you to actually read them.
5. Recite your affirmations aloud morning and night.
Trust me, I know this sounds and feels a little goofy. It is, but who really cares if your husband or kids think you are goofy? They probably already think that anyway.
Stand in front of a mirror and speak your affirmations aloud every morning and every night. I don’t know why it works best that way, but it just does.
If you want more help to write great affirmations, check out these articles:
- Jack Canfield on what affirmations are and 8 guidelines for writing great ones
- Valerie from Val Marie Paper on her experience creating Biblical affirmations
- Craig Groeschel’s list of daily affirmations and ideas for Christ-centered affirmations
I gave this process a try myself for one month, and the strangest thing happened.
These statements that I kept repeating really did pop into my head when I needed them.
When I started to play an old thought loop about being a bad mom, being afraid, or that I wasn’t good enough, the new words came into my head immediately.
The affirmations were able to shut down my stinkin’ thinkin’ before it went very far. That, my friends, is what I call a victory.
Here’s my challenge to you. Write your list of affirmations, and recite them twice a day for one month. Set reminders in your phone and give it a try, even if you just want to start with one affirmation.
Then, at the end of that month, message me on Facebook or Instagram to share what happened. I can’t wait to hear from you.
More Posts You May Like