With all of the life changes and trials that have come from this year, working with positive affirmations is one tool we can all use for reconnecting to ourselves and generating more love.

One of the benefits of working with positive affirmations is that they can alter our inner narrative and the stories we have been telling ourselves (true or untrue), whether we are conscious of it or not.

Affirmations can be used for cultivating a more positive outlook and hopeful vision.

Studies have found that working with positive affirmations can help to reduce stress. Dr. Masaru Emoto is known for his experiments showing the impacts of sound and words on water crystals.

Emoto published a bestselling book, The Hidden Messages of Water, with pictures of water crystals taken under the microscope. His pictures suggested that when water samples were exposed to negative words or harsh sound vibrations, their compositions became asymmetrical or disjointed.

When loving words or harmonic melodies were played, the crystals formed intricate, definable patterns.

Similar experiments of Dr. Emoto’s work have been replicated all over YouTube, usually using rice and water in beakers. These experiments tend to reveal the visibly destructive impacts of hateful words and a distinct beauty from loving vibrations.

What spoken and unspoken words are we telling ourselves?

Emoto’s experiments suggest that the words we tell ourselves and others may have an impact on our bodies, which are predominately made up of water. A direct way we can impact and work on cultivating a healthier mindset is through the practice of positive affirmations.

As a starting place for creating these, begin by doing a visualization exercise. Specify a time in the future and imagine how you would like to feel. Map out what life would look and feel like in this healthy, joyful vision. Feel what this visualization brings to the surface.

Then shift to writing your affirmations, you can begin with “I am,” but you do not have to begin there. Focus on the positive, for example writing how you want to feel instead of stating how you don’t want to feel.

If an affirmation feels inauthentic, try choosing a simpler one that feels more genuine to you. Only you will know what resonates. It might feel funny, at first, but speak these out loud.

Positive affirmations to try:

>> I am brave.

>> I am loved.

>> I am enough.

>> I am transforming.

>> I am strong.

>> I am capable.

>> I am moving forward with clarity and strength.

Starting a practice that encourages positivity within the mind may be one of the most loving things we can do for ourselves.

In my work coaching clients on overcoming obstacles, the buried topic we most commonly address is one that surrounds our sense of worthiness around our goals or visions. It is not enough for us to lay out steps toward our goals. We have to believe we are worthy of the healthy, positive goal or vision.

In times of transition, especially in circumstances outside of our control, the personal rewriting of our story toward something more positive is important for healthy movement forward.

Constructing and working with positive affirmations is just one method we can begin using for healthy mind management—particularly this year.

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