It's widely known in personal development circles that the phrase, 'I am' is one of the most powerful starts to a sentence that you can make. However, what matters, perhaps more, is what you say next.
Negative self talk leads to all sorts of problems, self-limiting beliefs, poor self-image and low self esteem. It can reinforce negative things that others say or have said about you, and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Examples of this are...
'I am fat'
'I am stupid'
'I am shy'
'I am rubbish at public speaking'
...the list goes on.
Even if you feel that you're stating a truism at that moment in time you will be creating a hurdle in your own mind for future development & adventures and reinforcing any dislikes, fears and phobias. It always seems so much more socially acceptable to put ourselves down than make a positive statement about ourselves. Part of us recoils at saying that we're good at something, as though we're becoming big-headed or arrogant. However, when you follow the statement 'I am' with a positive, your mind is encouraged and begins to make changes from within that allows this statement to become accurate. Also, it's not a crime to make a positive statement about yourself!
Examples of positive 'I am's are...
'I am learning'
'I am confident'
'I am fun'
'I am strong'
The law of attraction states that like attracts like, so by stating a positive 'I am' on a regular basis, you will create the right conditions within your own mind for a new, more positive you. This is because what you think about yourself, you start to say about yourself, your words then translate in to actions and actions, repeated often enough, become habits. Habits create the you that you are in any given moment. So, if you want to change yourself, you need to change the things you think and say about yourself and watch the knock-on effect.
I am a firm believer in positive affirmations, especially when combined with positive action to move towards where you want to be. However, sometimes, when you aren't quite feeling in a positive frame of mind it can be really tough to come up with a positive affirmation about yourself. Your mind just goes blank. I know, I've had days (and weeks) like that. So, I came up with the idea of an 'I am' board, full of wonderful positive statements about me that I could put in my office and look at whenever I needed a lift. I can choose one statement from it to keep in mind each day and repeat to myself whenever I need to encourage myself.
I wanted to make this simple tool available on my website and when I was writing about it in one of my books I realised that when you said 'I am board' out loud, it wasn't a particularly positive statement! So, in a moment of inspiration I changed it slightly and decided it should be an 'I am mirror', reflecting the perfect you.
Click on 'I am Mirror' and you will be taken to my website, you will find a link of the same name towards the bottom of the page.
By putting a lovely picture of yourself in the middle of the mirror, you reinforce that the positive statements are about you. Feel free to download this pdf and print it out. Stick a picture of yourself in the middle – make sure that it's a favourite picture of you. Place your 'I am mirror on a wall somewhere that you can see it whenever you want. You could even add your own words or stick small images such as stars or butterflies, on or around it to make it your own. Look at it everyday. Read the positive words about you. Pick one of them that fits for you today and keep it in mind, maybe write it down on a sticky note and put it in your diary, purse or wallet. Throughout the day refer to your positive statement, repeating it whenever you need a boost.
Some days you may just look at your 'I am mirror' and smile, because you know that you are perfect.
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