An affirmation is a statement that something is true. In the personal development world, affirmations are created and repeated as a way of positive thinking. It’s also key in the phrase “fake it till you make it” – if you tell yourself multiple times a day that you are creative, you will find yourself feeling and being more creative.
Creating affirmations can be a useful tool for goal setting and conscious living. It takes “someday” and turns it into the present. Teach children to create their own Affirmations and you’re helping them connect to themselves, explore their own hopes and dreams, and to think about who they aspire to be.
A Recipe for Your Own Great Affirmation
Ingredients
1 part Personal Affirmation
1 part Positive Affirmation
1 part Present Tense Affirmation
1 part Visual Affirmation
A sprinkle of Emotion
Add Consistency to taste
Directions
Mix the following descriptions together to get your personal affirmation!
1 part Personal – If you get an affirmation out of a book or off the internet it is less likely to resonate with you. Use others’ words as ideas to create your own affirmation in your own words. This will give it a much deeper, personal meaning.
1 part Positive – Affirmations should ALWAYS be positive. If you tell yourself something enough times, either positive or negative, it can become real. Self-deprecating speech and negative comments to others can be incredibly damaging; careless words from adults or other children can poison a child’s outlook on life.
1 part Present Tense – Affirmations should always be spoken in present tense. You can say “someday” but someday might never manifest. There is power in speaking in the present tense; it is the difference between “I am a strong, creative thinker” and “I will be a strong creative thinker.” Even if you don’t add someday, your brain does. Which one seems more powerful and possible?
1 part Visual – Spend time each day visualizing your affirmation. How does it look? Doing this right before bed or upon waking in the morning is a great way to end or start your day!
Add a sprinkle of Emotion – The more emotion you put into your affirmation, the more powerful it will be. Get excited when you speak your affirmation. When you are visualizing, feel the emotions you associate with a successful affirmation.
If your affirmation is “I am a successful communicator,” how does it feel? Do you have more confidence when you have to speak to someone? Are you happy you can get your point across? Does this help you in school or work?
Add Consistency to taste – Repeat your affirmation often. Write it down in a journal or on post-it notes so you will see it often.
Once you have a combination that suits your needs, Repeat Daily as needed!
Notes and Variations
Mini Affirmations – An affirmation is an intention. You can have one for each part of your day, or activity you do. Starting an activity with positive intent can make a dreaded task a little more tolerable, can make accomplishing it more satisfying, and allows you to get more enjoyment out of your daily tasks and activities.
This is something you can do with your kids every single day. Create affirmations together or come up with your own and share. Establishing what one hopes to receive out of each activity will really help get tasks started, and sharing is a great way to communicate and learn from each other. It’s also a great way to begin classes if the teacher sets an affirmation on the board and shares it with the class.
As an example, a family affirmation for going to the park might be “We are having fun together – building memories and getting exercise.”
Or doing dishes: “We are showing our gratitude for having delicious, nutritious food to eat by doing dishes.”
Or while studying for a test: “I am a smart student and all the knowledge I have learned in this course is available to me.” If you act on this, it will definitely help to calm pre-test anxiety!
There you have it, a simple recipe for great affirmations every member in your family can learn to cook up!
Do you use affirmations for your own or your family’s personal development? Please share your experiences with us by leaving a comment below!
Not going to lie, I used to think this feel good stuff was a lot of drivel, but now that my son has turned 12 and is already starting to get that teen “the world sucks, I’ll never be happy, and your lame dad” attitude, I am trying to use positive reinforcements just like this. thanks for the advice and wish me luck because i am still mystified how a warm, loving and very creative and gifted kid becomes emo almost overnight.
Hi Mark,
I think this is a stage that most kids go through. They are trying to figure out who they are, how the world works and what their place is.
Regardless of how your son is acting, he is watching you and listening to what you say, even if it doesn’t seem like it most times. The best you can do is be consistent, have an open line of communication and lead by example.
Most of our adult behaviors are formed by our teenage experiences with our parents and peers. How you interact with a teen provides the building blocks for their future, even though it can be frustrating and seems like nothing is working, it is behind the scenes.