Don’t like affirmations? Try these great reminders instead!

Don’t like affirmations? Try these great reminders instead!

I've always had a "love-hate" relationship with positive affirmations. 

I do find that saying positive things to myself helps me enjoy more happiness and feel more confident about life; but too often the affirmations I read are unrealistic and unrelatable. 

Which is why some research suggests affirmations can actually make people less happy! 

What we need instead of positive affirmations, and I've argued this for years now, are statements that inspire and motivate us towards happiness and success BUT ARE ALSO grounded in reality. 

Which is why I felt very happy when I found this great article…

by Megan Bruneau from MindBodyGreen

I'm gonna be honest. I often find myself reading "affirmations" and feeling all sorts of angry. I've never been into forced "positive thinking," and although I recognize it floats some people's boats, it has more of a torpedo effect on mine.

So I created a list of reminders (call them what you wanna call them), that actually help me live my best life. Here it is:

1. I'm imperfect, like everyone else, and that's OK. My self worth is not dependent on an accomplishment, number, or status.

2. Life is filled with sadness, pain, illness, death, and loss. These are universal human experiences.

3. Pain is out of my control. Self-compassion is in my control.

4. I am constantly changing; my world is constantly changing; everything I experience (physical, mental, and emotional) will come and go.

5. Being perfect is not what connects people. Vulnerability brings us closer together.

6. If I knew I only had a week to live, I should ask, "what would be important?"

7. There are no "bad" feelings; however, there are unhelpful reactions to difficult feelings. Experiencing uncomfortable feelings doesn't make something wrong with me, it makes me human…

…keep reading the full list and the original article HERE