No matter how hard you try, do you feel that your “positive pep talks” just aren’t working?

Well, you certainly aren’t alone, and I will tell you what to do about it.

Many of us have been told by an athletic coach, a friend or other well-meaning individual, that we should stand in front of the mirror each morning before we start our day and say something very affirming out loud.  This will give us the courage to reach our goals and achieve many wonderful successes. 

And many of us start out, trying to do just that.  But somehow it just never seems to help much.  Why is that?

What is the Main Problem With Your Daily Affirmations?

With your daily affirmations?  Probably nothing.  With the person delivering them?  Huge problem.  Why?  Because the person delivering the affirmations is probably you.  You, who really doesn’t believe in yourself in the first place.  You, who is tormented with self-doubts.  You, who would rather believe in anyone but you.  Do you see why this isn’t working?

When the person you least believe in—yourself—is the person staring back at you in the mirror making these declarations, it’s hard to really believe anything.  In his book, The Secret Code of Success, Noah St. John pointed this out.

So, What Can You Do About Your Daily Affirmations?

You can make them believable.  How?  By finding other people to say these things about you and then repeat what they have said. 

So, if you can’t believe what comes out of your mouth, then maybe you can believe what comes out of someone else’s mouth.  How do you do this?  I will explain this as we continue here.

Let Someone Else Endorse Your Daily Affirmations

What I normally tell coaching clients to find a quote online by someone whom you admire.  With the internet, it is very easy to do, but if you want to go to the local library–fine.  You probably even have some books at home.  There are famous quotes on encouragement, endurance, letting go, fear, and just about anything else. 

Be selective.  Choose a quote that you can connect with from someone you admire.  Then recite the quote to yourself each morning, giving the quotation’s originator with his/her credentials.  After you recite the quote with its originator and his/her credentials, follow it up with a paraphrase of your affirmation. 

Let me give you an example of how this should work. 

Say for example that you go to the World Wide Web and find a quote on fear by none other than Franklin D. Roosevelt.  You connect with the quote and think it would be a good one for what you are going through.  For simplicity’s sake, we’ll choose the famous fear quote by FDR.

So the next morning you will stand in front of the mirror and do this.  You’ll say out loud, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  Pause.

Now, say “This came from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States from 1933 to 1945, who led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.”  Pause briefly again.

Now the last step is to add your own affirmation to former President Roosevelt’s.  It should sound something like the following:

“Because Roosevelt himself told all of us Americans that we have nothing to fear, that includes me.  I can believe it.  I am not going to fear my next job interview, but courageously do my best to answer the interview questions with confidence and truth.”  (Definitely add your own wording here.)

Now, coming from the former Commander in Chief, I think you get the picture here. 

The Reason This New Way of Stating Affirmations Works

Again, the reason that this new way works, is because you are not listening to the person that you don’t believe—you.  You are listening to someone else and affirming what they are saying.

We’ve all hear the legal term guilty by association.  Now, you can be affirmed by association.  At least, that is how I like to refer to it.    

I know people who take scriptures out of The Bible and do the same exercise we’ve just discussed. 

Need Affirmations A “Little Closer to Home”?

Ask friends, family, co-workers or colleagues to help you compile a list of positive things that they can say about you or your work.  Maybe you are struggling to be an organized person; however, a member of your local PTA commented on how well you organized the school bake sale.

You may take this individual’s quote and credentials and add your own affirmation exactly like you did in the job interview/FDR example.  If you aren’t sure of the person’s credentials, you can always just describe them as something like “a friendly, caring neighbor who I’ve known for 11 years.”

In Conclusion

If others can believe in you, then it’s time you believe in YOU.  You are welcome to make their beliefs your own.  One day, you can believe in you.

How are you going to up your game this week?  I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.