As self-development is in my opinion one of the most crucial things in life – if not the most important – I would like to create a small challenge on how to change one’s life by positive affirmations in just one week.

The reason for the importance of self-development is very simple. Because the moment we start to work on ourselves all aspects of our life we may not be happy with start to change automatically.

So, let’s say you are not satisfied with your job, your grades, your family, or your relationship. Whatever it might be, the basic problem for your unsatisfying situation is always rooted somewhere inside. Therefore, nothing will ever change unless you change inside as the outer circumstances will never do so by themselves.

 If you don’t believe it, try it

This week’s challenge is for anybody who is ambitious, open-minded, and most importantly, willing to change.

So, if you want to become a better version of yourself and improve your circumstances in life at the same time, then you’ve come to the right place.

The easiest way to work on ourselves is to change our daily thinking habits. Because our daily thinking habits influence the way we are, the way we behave and the way we feel. They determine our state of being.

Let me explain: the basic problem is that our brain automatically tends to think negatively if we don’t ‘control’ it, which means that most of our unconscious thoughts are of a negative nature. The problem with this negativity is that it holds us back from trying new things and changing unsatisfying circumstances.

If you don’t believe me, try to observe the negativity of your thoughts just for one single day. That includes the weather, the behavior of others, every image or event you see in the media, as well as criticism of yourself. Before you start the challenge, you need to be aware of how much your daily life is controlled by your thoughts.

A good way to actively train our brain in positive thinking is using affirmations. An affirmation is something that focuses on a positive outcome and states something as true.

Louise Hay explains in the first chapter of her book ‘I CAN DO IT’ that an affirmation is really anything you say or think and that affirmations are the starting point on the path of change.[1]

This weekly challenge is based on the integration of positive affirmations into daily routines, covering the following topics:

-> CREATIVITY

-> SELF ESTEEM

-> JOB SUCCESS

-> HEALTH & BODY

Affirmations work best by repetition I would therefore recommend you repeat the following affirmations in the morning and in the evening for at least one week. If you can manage, it would be best to go through them in the morning before you get up, and in the evening before you go to sleep. These are – in my opinion – the best times for transferring positive statements into your subconscious mind. Additionally, these are the times when you can combine them easily with a short meditation.

During these 5 minutes in the morning and the 5 minutes in the evening pay special attention to emerging emotions – they are the language of the body and therefore as important as your thoughts.

Some of the affirmations are inspired by Louise Hay’s book ‘I CAN DO IT’ which I can very much recommend.[2]

If you are interested in participating in this weekly ‘self-development challenge’, you are very welcome to let me know how you feel after these days of positive affirmations.

A small tip at the end:

As a meditation teacher I can assure you that meditation is the magic additional element when working on yourself. Because with mediation you train your mind to calm down and focus on on the moment. This skill helps you to control your mind appropriately and to make it think healthy and happy thoughts. The thoughts YOU choose to think. In a nutshell, it accelerates the process of self-development.

Find tips on how to meditate on a regular basis in one of my other articles.

https://thesmartspirit.com/5-smart-tips-on-how-to-meditate-on-a-regular-basis/

[1] Hay, Louise: Introduction – I CAN DO IT

[2] Hay, Louise: Chapter 1,4,7 and 8 – I CAN DO IT