The Power of Affirmations in Habit Building.

I recently started reading Jen Sincero's book Badass Habits and she brought up a really interesting point: when we try to implement new habits, a lot of the times they don't stick - even if we have the best intentions. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that our desired habits and outcomes don't always align with how we feel.

For example, it's going to be pretty hard to lose weight if you start a stringent and restrictive diet without digging a little deeper to figure out why you think your body isn't perfectly fine as it is. Whether your thoughts are justified or not, if you perceive yourself as an overweight person, you won't stick to that diet very long because your actions aren't in line with your beliefs. When you start eating healthier, don't think of yourself as a heavy person trying to lose weight, think of yourself as a healthy person nourishing their body.

Our feelings need to align with our habits. Thoughts become beliefs, beliefs become actions and actions become habits. In order to change our lives through positive habits (or get rid of negative ones), we need to change our thoughts. An easy way to do this is through affirmations.

An affirmation is something we tell ourselves repeatedly - similar to a motto - in order to reinforce an idea.

By repeating affirmations, we literally rewire our brains to think differently. And when we think differently, we act differently.

Write down some common negative mottos and affirmations you tell yourself on a daily basis. Some examples could include:

• I'm unhealthy

• I'm lazy

• I'm a smoker

• I'm have no money

• I'm never going to find love

• I'm a short-tempered person easily angered by the grandma driving in the fast lane

Then using those negatives, you need to flip them to think differently about these concepts. For instance:

• I'm unhealthy -> I love and nourish my strong beautiful body.

• I'm lazy -> I'm active and love moving my body.

• I'm a smoker -> I am not a smoker, I have healthy pink lungs.

• I have no money -> Money comes to me easily and abundantly.

• I'm never going to find love -> I'm going to end up with exactly who I'm meant to be with and they will be absolutely incredible.

• I'm a short-tempered person easily angered by the grandma driving in the fast lane -> I have patience for days, I exude the patience of an old tortoise.

Once you flip your negative self talk, you need to repeat your new motto and affirmations all the time. Write it on a sticky note and put that sucker on your mirror. Set it as your phone screen background. Write it in a journal in the morning and before you go to bed. Become obsessed with it.

The more you think something, the more you start to believe it and walk the talk. Affirmations aren't all you need to change your habits (and life) - but they're a strong start. They're an impactful aide in kicking off a new habit and ensuring it sticks.

Changing our habits and how we think of ourselves is a challenging task. Sign up for a coaching session to dive deeper and start your journey towards cultivating a thriving fickle life.