How to Use Affirmations to Improve Your Life

And just like that we’re back to Monday!  How was your weekend? We had a full one with the At Home event with Brittany and Ashley from Shanty2Chic on Saturday (full recap post coming soon!) and then my friend Ali-Shaun and I spent a couple hours at the Galleria on Sunday to help her pick out some new things for her wardrobe.

You might remember her as the adorable one in the heart pajamas at our Favorite Things party and she pops up on my Stories from time to time!  She’s also the one that introduced me to Vietnamese iced coffee! #dangit!!! #nowImaddicted!!! Ali-Shaun has been telling me forever I should do a “Style a Friend” post on my blog and she agreed to be the first one! We had a blast hanging out together and found some great things! You can get a sneak peek on Stories (check out the saved Highlights) until I share everything in my first Style a Friend post next week!

Today I’m talking about something new I’m exploring this year- the Law of Attraction and Daily Affirmations. Even though I don’t set hard and fast new year’s resolutions, every year I try to improve in certain areas and focus on things that will help me live a better life. Last year I tried yoga (I loved it but haven’t stuck with it) and meditation (that I’m still doing).

This year, I’m trying The Miracle Morning, which is based on the book The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod.  I started implementing this routine which is designed to wake you up each day with more energy, motivation and focus to take your life to the next level. The routine consists of 6 daily rituals “SAVERS” : Silence, Affirmation, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing (writing) that you incorporate into your morning routine. If you use my Daily Planner printable, there’s a spot at the top to check those off!  I’ll be creating more FREE printables, and you can access all of them here.

DAILY AFFIRMATIONS

Today I’m focusing on the Daily Affirmations, which is something completely new to me, but also something I find fascinating for how quickly and effective it is!  You can use affirmations to help you become who you want to be and to live the life you want to live.

Affirmations help you become who you want to be

Affirmations program you to be confident and successful in everything you do, simply by repeatedly telling yourself who you want to be, what you want to accomplish, and how you are going to accomplish it. With enough repetition, your subconscious mind will begin to believe what you tell it, then act upon it, and eventually manifest it in your reality.

Every area of your life can benefit from positive affirmations- your health, finances, spirituality, relationships, overall happiness, confidence, and any beliefs you have.

What we say to ourselves matters, even if we don’t voice it out loud.  That commentary drives our actions and behaviors and shapes our destiny.  Our inner words can be helpful or beneficial, but often our self talk is negative or destructive.  You know when you have that little voice inside you telling you either, “you can do it!” or “don’t even try.”  “You are enough just as you are” or “nothing good ever happens to me.” You know what I’m talking about.  It happens to all of us.

What we say to ourselves and about ourselves matters

If you have the negative voice, it can crush your spirit or dreams before they even get a change to take flight.  The good news is that we have the power to change and improve what we tell ourselves, what we say about ourselves.

I like to think of my kids and how I talk to them.  I try to always be positive and encouraging. I want to build up their small but fierce spirits.  Then I think about myself and have to ask, “would I talk to my kids they way I talk to myself?”  You and I were kids once! And that child still lives inside of us.  At the very least, we need to be KIND to her.  And we can do better than that.  We can tell her she’s beautiful, she’s worthy, she’s creative, good things are coming to her, she CAN do it, she WILL do it, she’s a great mother, she’s doing a great job!

In the Miracle Morning, there are 5 steps to create your own affirmations and that will help you figure out the affirmations that will be the most beneficial to you.

5 Steps to Create Your Own Affirmations

1. Identify What You Really Want

Hal says, your affirmation must first clearly articulate exactly what you want your ideal life to be like, in each area.  You can organize your affirmations according to the areas that you most want to focus on improving, such as Health/Fitness, Mindset, Emotions, Finances, Relationships, Spirituality, etc. Begin with clarifying, in writing, what you really want—your ideal vision for yourself and your life—in each area.

2. Identify Why You Want It

Include why, at the deepest level, all of the things you want are important to you. Being crystal clear on your deepest whys will give you an unstoppable purpose.

3. Commit to Becoming That Person

In other words, your life gets better only after YOU get better. Your outer world improves only after you’ve invested countless hours improving yourself. Being (who you need to be) and doing (what you need to do) are prerequisites for having what you want to have. Get clear on who you need to be, are committed to being, in order to take your life, business, health, marriage, etc. to the next level and beyond.

4. Identify the Actions You Will Take

He gives these examples in the book:  Which actions will you need to take on a consistent basis to make your vision for your ideal life a reality? Want to lose weight? Your affirmation might say something like: I am 100% committed to going to the gym 5 days a week and running on the treadmill for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you’re a salesperson, your affirmation might read: I’m committed to making 20 prospecting calls every day, from 8am-9am. The more specific your actions are, the better. Be sure to include frequency (how often), quantity (how many), and precise time frames (what times you’ll begin and end your activities.)

Start small because you can always build up to your ideal goal.

4. Add Inspirational Quotes

Anytime you see or hear a quote that inspires you, or come across an empowering philosophy or strategy and think to yourself: Wow, that is a huge area of improvement for me, add it to your affirmations. By focusing on these every day, you will begin to integrate the empowering philosophies and strategies into your way of thinking and living, which will improve your results and quality of life.

Keep in mind that your affirmations will never really be a “final” draft, because you should always be updating them. As you continue to learn, grow, and evolve, so should your affirmations. When you come up with a new goal, dream, habit, or philosophy you want to integrate into your life, add it to your affirmations. When you accomplish a goal or completely integrate a new habit into your life, you might find it’s no longer necessary to focus on it every day, and thus choose to remove it from your affirmations.

Finally, you must be consistent with reading your daily affirmations. That’s right, you must read them daily. Saying an occasional affirmation is as effective as getting an occasional workout. You won’t see any measurable results until you make them a part of your daily routine.

10 DAILY AFFIRMATIONS

The process of coming up with my daily affirmations required me to get quiet and dig deep to think about what I really want my life to look like.  Once I took the time to create my affirmations, reading them felt kind of weird at first and I still need to start saying them OUT LOUD.  It’s a personal thing to share my affirmations, but my hope is that they encourage you to craft your own.  And, I’m happy to share these for you to use if they resonate with you.

Daily Affirmations Honey We're Home

 

I found that I wanted to have my affirmations handy throughout the day, so I made mini affirmation cards, laminated them, and I keep one at my desk, in my closet, in my purse, and in the car so they are always available.

Daily Affirmations Image

** Subscribe to my blog to get a PRINTABLE VERSION of this and my entire printable library.  If you’re already subscribed, look for a link to my printables library in the HWH Weekend Edition on Saturday.

The Best crop joggers

Whenever we go deeper like this, I like to end on a lighthearted note, so today I’m sharing my favorite pair of lightweight crop joggers that will quickly become a favorite in your closet.  You first saw me in these joggers in the sage green color last summer, but I wear mine year round- unless it’s freezing out.  Then, they are still good for lounging around inside! They feel so silky against your skin and the wide waistband is ultra comfortable and the pockets zip closed, a cute touch.

FIT: They run TTS and the XXS is my perfect size for this 5’1 girl. I bought the green in XS when I didn’t see XXS available and they are wearable, but a little slouchy on me.

Weekend outfit inspiration - joggers and comfy top with sneakers (3)

Crop Joggers XXS • V-Neck Pocket Tee XS • Slip On Sneaks • No Show Socks • Bar Necklace • Similar White Watch •  Swell Bottle

Weekend outfit inspiration - joggers and comfy top with sneakers (2)

You can these joggers to the gym, but I like to wear mine running errands on weekends with a relaxed tank or tee.  Make that tee long sleeve with a jean jacket on the cooler days. This pink tee is the same style as the white/navy striped tee you saw here.

Daily Outfit Inspiration - crop joggers and v-neck tee with slip on sneakers

I also wore these joggers with the softest pullover ever! I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be pajamas, but you can totally get away with wearing it outside and I won’t tell! 😉

Daily Outfit Inspiration - crop joggers and grey pullover with pink sneakers

Crop Joggers XXS • Grey Pullover XS • Pink Sneaks • No Show Socks • BagSimilar White Watch • Bracelet • Black Aviators

Weekend outfit inspiration - joggers and comfy top with sneakers

OMG- when the wind won’t stop blowing your hair into your mouth!! Ha!

That’s better!! 😉

Comfy Weekend Outfit - joggers and sneakers

and shhhhh!!! 😉

cozy pajamas and socks

Pajama Joggers XS • Cozy Socks

Let me know if you use the Daily Affirmation printable! What is your favorite affirmation? Maybe I could add that to MY list!

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

17 Comments

    1. I can relate to that! And we live in such a comparison world, but we have to just know we are all doing the best we can! I’d love to know how you like the book!

  1. Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve read the Miracle Morning and am currently working my way through the Miracle Morning for Parents and Families. Coming up with affirmations is something that I have really struggled with, and it helps so much to see your examples. I haven’t started implementing the SAVERS and getting up as early as I need to just yet, but I’m planning to get started soon…between a toddler going through some sleep regression and the zero degree temps where I live, I haven’t managed to power past hitting that snooze button and crawling back under the covers yet! I really appreciate the posts you’ve been doing on personal development–I hope that you will keep them coming!

    1. I definitely think that when your babe isn’t sleeping, that has to be your first priority. When mama doesn’t get enough rest, it’s a killer! So don’t but too much pressure on yourself to do all the SAVERS in the morning. I actually do mine throughout the day too!

  2. I love this new series. I’m passionate about the Law of Attraction too, and I read Hal’s book a few years ago. After reading your recent posts, I think I’m going to re-read it. Thanks for the motivation and inspiration.

    1. I think it’s one of those books that we can always benefit from a rereading- it’s pretty quick too! I just read it in December and could probably already give it another go-through!

  3. It’s crazy how being positive about yourself affects your mood and others around you. It starts with feeling good about yourself no matter where you are in life.

  4. Great post Megan! I have heard of the miracle morning but didn’t know too much about it. I think positive affirmations are so important and I agree that they make such a big difference! I love the point you make about talking to yourself like you talk to your kids, that really resonated with me! A counselor I see from time to time talked about this in terms of “the stories we tell ourselves” and that really helped me to recognize and silence that awful inner critic! A song that I find really powerful and pertinent to this discussion is Perfect by Pink. My fave line is “change the voices in your head, make them like you instead”! Anyway, you have inspired me to work on my personal affirmations today. Thanks for this powerful post! And ps the joggers are super cute!

  5. Your posts have been awesome. I’ve always loved your blog but lately you have been even more awesome than you were before….I don’t know how that is even possible!! Your hard work really shows!

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