“The definition of hell is: Your last day on Earth, the person you became meets the person you could have become.”– Dan Sullivan.

We all want to live up to our full potential. But life is moving so fast and there are so many obstacles. What can we utilize to manifest the best possible version of ourselves? The answer lies in our words, and this article will discuss how positive affirmations can completely change the direction of your life. I know this because it did with mine.

Positive affirmations redirect our negative energy

I have one perfect image to describe myself when I am anxious:

You may remember this guy from the looney toons cartoons. Appropriately named for the real Tasmanian devil, the Looney Tunes character of the Tasmanian Devil, often referred to as “Taz,” was depicted as crazy and stressed in the cartoon series.

He had a lot of energy, but it was misdirected. By definition, it is self-centered fear, which manifests into anxiety, a feeling of powerlessness, a need to control situations, and negative feelings of failure and self-doubt. The minute it takes hold, we try to control everything. And at the end of the storm passing, we are exhausted, because we have burned needless energy that could have been used for so many better purposes. Purposes like productivity, connecting with people, and taking care of ourselves.

What are positive affirmations and how can they help?

Positive affirmations are powerful tools that can help you overcome negative thoughts, boost your self-esteem, and cultivate a positive mindset. Simply put, they are statements that affirm positive beliefs about yourself or your life.

Affirmations have the power to change the way think and act in our lives in a positive way, they can change our emotions, alter our behaviors’ and reassess our beliefs. Ultimately, they can help us to achieve our goals in life and achieve greatness.

More specifically, affirmations don’t necessarily have to be words we chant or write on a post-it and stick on the mirror. As I will describe, listening to positive messages and uplifting words can be “affirmations”.

Why the Morning is the Best Time for Affirmations

Upon awakening, imagine your brain matter like wet sand. Whatever you place upon it will leave the imprint and then the ocean of life will eventually wash it away by the night. So it really matters WHAT you put in your brain the first thing. If it’s CNN, emails, social media, or self-defeating thoughts, that will be what imprints on your mind and influences all of your actions for the day.

It is really about how you are imprinting your brain. And the morning is when your brain is the most primed for IMPRINTING.

Therefore, it is ideal to read or listen to positive affirmations in the morning before you let anything else in.

Your words become your reality 

I remember about 6 years ago, I had been having one of those Taz days. Except it was really spiraling. The walls were closing in. I wanted to run. I couldn’t deal. I couldn’t even walk out the door.

Then, my soon-to-be husband sent me this video of one of Joel Osteen’s motivational speeches. I thought, isn’t he some hack evangelist? With wanting to at least entertain his idea of trying to help me, I played the video.

I have been playing this video almost every morning since that day. I start my morning walking on the treadmill and listening to this. This has completely proven to be true – the words I speak over my life directly impact my life. I know now I can either do two things with fear, as Zig Ziglar said: Forget everything and run, or face everything and rise.

Every day, I make that choice. And I need as many uplifting words in my head as possible. Listen to this and tell me if it doesn’t change you in some way!

Why our words can directly impact our lives

My favorite part of the video is when he says:

In life, there are always two voices vying for your attention. The voice of faith and the voice of defeat. Now, here’s the beauty. You get to choose which voice comes to life. The way you do it is by what you speak. When you verbalize that thought, you’re giving it the right to come to pass. 

While some may not relate to him, I find that he’s gotten me through  some really hard times. In the same video I shared, he runs through these positive affirmations at the end:

I am strong. I am healthy. I am in shape. I weigh what I’m supposed to weigh. I am full of energy. I am passionate. I am talented. I am secure. I am valuable. I am confident. I have a good personality. People like me. I am fun to be around. I am happy. I enjoy my life. I am a person of excellence. I am full of integrity. I am successful. I am prosperous. My future is bright. My children are mighty in the land. My legacy will live on to inspire future generations. I run with purpose in every step. I am blessed. I am victorious. I am a child of the most high God.

Your Words Become Your Reality, Sermon by J. Osteen

Even if you are not religious, a lot of the “God” in these messages is really about the universe. It is about a power greater than yourself. Once you start to trust that power and take a step back, you would be amazed by how things seem to magically work themselves out. The first step to that is positively believing and telling yourself of those outcomes.

Journaling positive affirmations

One powerful way to utilize positive affirmations is to journal them. You can buy different types of positive affirmation journals or just use index cards or post-its. Any visual reminder of your self-worth is empowering and something you won’t be able to avoid if negative thoughts come up.

Start by writing “I am” and then fill in the rest of the sentence with the person you believe is the best version of yourself. Even if you don’t believe the things you are writing are true, by doing so, you are manifesting them into existence.

Here are some examples of meditations I have written. I also have these on my desktop at work:

• I attract what I talk about, so I only speak positive words.
• My life is amazing.
• I am proud of all the bad days I have survived.
• I exhale worry and inhale trust.
• I can get through any and all setbacks.
• I will stop overthinking. I cannot control everything in life, so I let it be.
• Whenever I am stressed I make sure I take time to breathe so I can think clearly.
• I choose confidence and calm over worry and stress.
• I am thankful that I have a career that I love.
• If I put my all into something, I know I can crush it. God lights up my path.
• I got hustle. I got this.
• I remain calm and positive even when faced with challenges.
• I am excited to finally start living the life I always wished for.

There’s an app for positive affirmations

The hardest part of positive affirmations is coming up with them, so why reinvent the wheel?

I get a lot of my positive affirmations from the “I am” app. When you download it you can customize the affirmations you want to get – whether you want more gratitude, less anxiety and worry, more uplifting messages. Then the app “pushes” notifications for positive affirmations just like all the other notifications that you get. Except these notifications will instill something positive in you. Examples of the “I am affirmations” include:

Meditation affirmations 

You can also listen to meditations that have positive affirmations, like this one from Power Thoughts Meditation Club on YouTube:

Business affirmations 

Og Mandino was an American author who wrote many self-help books, including “The Greatest Salesman in the World.” This book is written as a parable and tells the story of a poor camel boy named Hafid who becomes the greatest salesman in the world by following the teachings of ten ancient scrolls.

The Scroll Marked III has particularly inspiring affirmations: