Daily Affirmations

The Morning Cycle: Anxiety, Dread, Negativity

“The only pressure I’m under is the pressure I’ve put on myself.”

Mark Messier

I would go to bed every night promising myself that everything will be okay and that my life is generally pretty good and that I’m reasonably successful. I’d remind myself of all the wonderful things that are happening and how grateful I should feel.

Then morning would come, as it always does, and I’d wake up with anxiety and dread. I would have a dozen terrible thoughts running through my head and literally feel heavy from the weight of these thoughts while still laying in bed! (Do thoughts actually have weight? I’m betting the negative ones do!)

Even before I’d rouse myself to start a new day and see what actually transpires, my thoughts had already made up stories that scared me to even face the day.

What if I have a car accident (one of my worst fears)? What if I have a disease I don’t know about? What if I lose someone I love today? What if this or that awful thing comes to be, what am I to do?

And on and on these negative thoughts would circulate my head as I showered and dressed and got ready for my day. I would wear a fake smile, look all happy and smart on the outside, and go about my day, feeling anything but peaceful.

By mid day, the morning’s anxious thoughts would dissipate and the busyness of the day would take over, but I’d be physically depleted from fighting this war in my head every single morning.

 

How I Found My Way out of Negativity

Then a few years ago, I stumbled upon something called “positive affirmations“, these first-person present-tense mantras or statements that you repeat over and over to cultivate a positive calm state of mind.

The skeptic in me poked fun at affirmations for the longest time, but the curiosity was thankfully stronger so I gave them a try. Every day, I’d start repeating three simple affirmations before even getting out of bed.

“I am feeling strong and healthy today. I am grateful and happy for my life. I trust myself.”

I did this for a week and let’s just say, by the end of that week, I could no longer justifiably make fun of positive affirmations! They worked miracles in my mind.

So I’m here to tell you today that you are not alone.

If you wake up with anxiety and stress, you are not alone.

If you think of all that could go wrong before the day has even started, you are not alone.

If your first thoughts in the morning are not peaceful, you are not alone.

Millions of people wake up with stress and anxiety every day. Science and medicine has researched and proven the harmful effects of negative thoughts and stress.

Stress and anxiety can have serious negative long-term effects on your physical health, your mental wellbeing, your relationships, your job performance, your finances and your opportunities in life. Don’t let it do that to you!

Ready to heal your negativity?

“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” – Peace Pilgrim

You know the worst part? Most people don’t ever learn that changing their thoughts is within their complete power. So they remain slaves to their own thoughts – most of which are negative.

It turns out that you can choose your thoughts and if you can choose, then choose positive thoughts. It is a skill that you can develop at any age and stage in your life.

You have the brainpower, the smarts, and all the tools that you need to decide which thoughts you allow and which ones you forbid. It’s marvelous really when you get the hang of it.

The most effective tool to use to direct the right thoughts in and the wrong ones out is daily affirmations. When you learn how to incorporate daily affirmations into your life, first, you become aware.

You become aware of your thoughts and of what is going on in your head. You become aware of your natural tendency to think negative thoughts in certain (or most) situations.

Awareness helps you identify when the patterns are happening so that you can then use affirmations to reverse such patterns.

With the power of daily affirmations, the energy flow of your thoughts changes. You will infuse more positive energy into your mind and become aware of the potential negative energy surrounding you.

 

10 Daily Affirmations to Memorize Now

“I am safe. All is well. Everything comes to me at the right time.” ~Louise Hay

If daily tools are not quick and easy to use, we’re not likely to stick with them even if the benefits are huge. That’s why I pulled together a list of only 10 short and easy-to-memorize daily affirmations that are both effective and energizing in helping you feel inner peace and excitement. It is best to say these first thing in the morning. Repeat each affirmation three times and do this for one week to start getting results.

  1. I am enough.
  2. I wake up happy and productive.
  3. I accept my true identity.
  4. I trust myself and my decisions.
  5. I love and approve of myself.
  6. I am worthy of happiness and respect.
  7. I bring great energy to all things I do.
  8. My body is healing itself all the time.
  9. Gratitude is my default emotion in all things.
  10. My life serves a purpose.

I included mostly first-person affirmations, because they’re generally the simplest ones to start with. You can memorize the list in pairs at first. Memorize two then another two and then keep adding. Or you can pick and choose your favorite affirmations from the list and only use those.

Remember: You are important. You are capable. You are smart. And you are worthy of love and happiness. Your thoughts may lie to you until you start to drive the negative thoughts out and focus on the positive ones. Affirmations can help you do this and much more. Give yourself another chance. Let affirmations be the start of your happiness now.

Want more affirmations? Check out the Top 100 Positive Affirmations.

About the author 

Farnoosh Brock

Farnoosh Brock is a published author, blogger, coach and full-time entrepreneur. After corporate, she started Prolific Living which she now runs with her husband, Andy. She is an avid Ashtanga yoga addict and passionate about green juicing, healthy smoothies and globe trotting. Download your FREE affirmation morning audio gift now.

Brendan Baker is Australia's leading personal development blogger and and helps people build and grow online businesses based on their passions. He has created the Launch Your Life Academy and Your First 1000 Subscribers. Connect with Brendan: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

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  1. I’ve always been skeptical about affirmations. The hokiness factor is my big hang up. That and I can’t remember to say them for more than a couple days in a row.

    I’m gonna try these. I’m curious and I want to test my self – discipline. Can I stick with them for a whole week?

    1. Todd, I’ll challenge you and say, why are affirmations silly and being negative and sarcastic and skeptical and just plain indifferent so popular? Do we really want that to represent who we are? I’d say just ask yourself who do you want to be in life – a positive, inspiring, and grateful person or the type that fits into the mold.

      Yes, stick to them for a week and even longer. Also download the 12-minute audio from the gift link above and use it daily. If it doesn’t work, you’ll have only felt better which in itself is worth the doing – methinks anyway!

  2. Thanks for the list of positive affirmations. They really do work. I know some people think they are baloney, but if they are made a habit over time then they eventually change your brain chemistry and can make you happier. Positive self talk for the win.

    1. Hi Sebastian, some think that way about everything – you and your own beliefs and your own results are what should matter. If it works for you, keep doing them. Positive self-talk for the win << love it!

  3. Great article Farnoosh – and I totally agree with you on the power of affirmations. I am a big believer in affirmations and use them for many different areas of my life, depending on what I’m doing and how I’m feeling. Sometimes I use them to lift my mood and sometimes to focus on improving or increasing my confidence on specific things I’m working on or trying to achieve.

    It almost seems too amazing that something so apparently simple can have this affect on us – which is why when I talk to people about affirmations I suggest people they just try it for themselves, even if they’re skeptical – to see if makes a difference.

    Coincidentally I’m doing a 30 day video challenge this month and my video yesterday was about this very subject. If anyone’s interested in seeing it – you can find it at http://www.brilliantlivinghq.com/empowering-beliefs

    1. Kathryn, I just watched your video and commented. So glad we have this in common. A 30-day video challenge sounds very exciting. I find that even 20 days is enough to start turning around our negative thoughts and at least create the tools to work more positivity in there. Keep shining!

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