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Fitness

Weekly Work-In: Week 2 – Create a Personal Affirmation That Works

I never connected with affirmations until I found a one that truly resonated with what I wanted. Use your "work-in journal" to answer questions and create a true intention for your life.

Julie Rader

Written by Julie Rader Last updated on March 6, 2014

Affirmations are positive, present tense statements that keep you focused on the immediate goal at hand.

I never connected with the affirmation process until I found a statement that truly resonated with what I wanted. Use your work-in journal to answer some simple questions and create a true intention for your life.

Affirmations are positive, present tense statements that keep you focused on the immediate goal at hand.

I never connected with the affirmation process until I found a statement that truly resonated with what I wanted. Use your work-in journal to answer some simple questions and create a true intention for your life.

Step 1: Journaling

Take ten to thirty minutes to answer each of these questions in your journal:

  1. Describe the most pressing problem, challenge, or goal you are currently facing in your life.
  2. Describe your ideal scenario for the outcome of this problem. Take a moment and truly visualize the perfect result, without any limitations such as time, money, or other people’s roles in the process. If everything turned out for your highest good, what would the result be?
  3. Make a list of everything that stands in the way of you and your result. This can be something tangible such as, “I don’t have time in my schedule to exercise every day.” It may also be something more subtle such as, “I give a lot of my energy to my work.” Write down at least ten obstacles in your way. Be honest.
  4. After each obstacle, create a positive statement that negates the obstacle itself. For example, after, “I don’t have time in my schedule to exercise every day,” you may write, “There is plenty of time each day if I schedule wisely.” Be creative. Whenever possible, make the statement something you personally can do to negate an obstacle. Write your negations in the present tense.
  5. Look at your ideal scenario and the negations you have written. In one sentence, sum up the result you are seeking as well as any work you will do to achieve that result. For example, “I save time and energy to work on myself each day. My health is worth the sacrifices I make in my schedule.”

You may already know some goals you are working on. If so, try answering the questions out loud as quickly as possible, without hesitation. This may help you see your intentions and obstacles in a new light.

Step 2: Using Your Affirmation

There is no right way to use an affirmation, and there is certainly no limit to how much you should say it. State your affirmation any time you catch yourself trapped behind an obstacle. Remind yourself of the way you can negate that obstacle by your positive actions.

In yoga, we use a symbol of an upside-down tree to represent the mind’s affect on the body. With roots in the mind, this tree then grows from the mind-stuff to create the body’s patterns, habits, abilities, and limitations.

So, at least once a day, make time to become quiet and still and repeat your affirmation to yourself ten times. You may repeat it mentally, out loud, or in writing. The mind is incredibly powerful.

Simply by stating your affirmation over and over, you can make your mind believe it is true in your life. When the mind believes something is true, the body follows.

If you are comfortable, share your affirmation with others. When we share goals, we are more likely to hold ourselves accountable to them, and we invite others to help us along that path. I encourage you to share this article and post your affirmation. 

In case you missed it:

  • Weekly Work-In: Week 1 – Create a Simple Daily Ritual for Body and Mind
  • Weekly Work-In: Week 3 – Create Balance in Your Life With the 5 Body Approach
  • Weekly Work-In: Week 4 – How to Support the Energetic Body
  • Weekly Work-In: Week 5 – Use Meditation to Calm Mental Conflict
  • Weekly Work-In: Week 6 – Getting Past the Ego
  • Weekly Work-In: Week 7 – Following Your Bliss
  • Weekly Work-In: Week 8 – Use Your Visualization to Achieve Your Sports Goals

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Julie Rader

About Julie Rader

Julie first discovered yoga and meditation as a teenager, using it to enhance sports performance. These tools helped Julie perform at the collegiate level, earning All-American recognition for springboard diving and first team All-Region accolades for soccer. Her passion for developing peak performance lead Julie to a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Union College and master's degree in Exercise Physiology from Northern Arizona University.

To further strengthen her studies, Julie spent 33 days of silence learning Kriya Yoga under Swami Janakananda and traveled to India to meet her guru, Swami Satyananda. She continues to study with Shiva Rea and Sianna Sherman and finds ongoing inspiration from her parents and her husband, Matt.

Julie uses yoga, visualization and yoga nidra (a yogic sleep method) to help professional athletes reach their greatest potential. She has worked with the US Women's Volleyball Team, the US Cycling Team, the USWNT in soccer and a wide range of individual, professional athletes. Julie has served as a lululemon ambassador since 2007, was named as one of "8 Angelenos You Should Know" by LA Confidential Magazine in 2011, has developed two iPhone yoga applications and looks forward to every day as a yoga teacher and, always, student.

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