Using self affirmations to change your paradigms

The easiest way to change your paradigms

Last week, we’ve talked about how our paradigms shape our world: The way you see the world largely determines what you experience.

I mentioned one thing that I want to expand on a bit because it worked so well for me – the subject of self-affirmations.

I've only spent a total of an hour on this in the last 5 years combined, but the impact on my life has been tremendous.

One "aha" moment I had with affirmations was when I realized that a paradigm of mine had unconsciously shifted. It was like when, after a long period of being sick and then gradually recovering, you suddenly realize that you're not sick anymore. This feels like something.

One of the affirmations I wrote for myself was about my appearance, namely "I am beautiful.”

Although I didn't think I looked bad, I didn't feel "beautiful" either. But after a longer period of reading the affirmation every day, this changed with an "aha" moment similar to the example above.

At first, reading and saying an affirmation out loud is extremely strange. It feels a little like lying to yourself. But after some time, this feeling diminishes and eventually it becomes the normal way of seeing yourself.

Today, I would like to encourage you to try it out for yourself. This is more of a long-term project, but one that takes only a little effort.

As I said last week, seeing is being. To change your behavior, first change the way you see the world - one step at a time.

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✏️ Retro

(Like always, you can download the Notion template to take structured notes.)

What goals did you set for yourself last month, and how well did you achieve them?

Make a list of your goals (even if they were only implicit) and score them from 1 (low) to 10 (high). You are not allowed to pick a 7. Take notes as you go.

Is there something that is blocking you?

What held you back last month? What can you do to avoid this next month?

What did you learn?

Did you learn something about yourself, your environment, or about the work you do?

🔭 Planning

What are your top 3 priorities next month?

Why are they important to you?

What goals do you set for yourself in light of these priorities?

To beat procrastination, make sure to split every higher-level goal into small subgoals.

What are potential obstacles or challenges you may face?

How can you prepare for them?

🌈 Bonus

Take 5 minutes to write down a set of self-affirmations for yourself.

Here are some examples for your inspiration. Also think of your own. Notice which affirmations make you feel uncomfortable but still reflect your values. Why do they feel that way? When you're done, post these self-affirmations in a place where you'll see them regularly.

When writing your own affirmations, use positive language ("I am beautiful" instead of "I am not ugly") and the present tense ("I am" instead of "I will be"). Then say them out loud to yourself a few times whenever you see them.

🙏 Thanks!

Thank you for being a part of Mental Garden. I sincerely hope you found this email useful.

I really encourage you to try it out. This is one of the things that fall in this category of “not a lot of effort, but huge reward.”

Curious what you make of it ✨

With gratitude,
Marc