Can Affirmations Help at Work?

Monday morning rolls around a lot faster than we want it to when we leave work on Friday evening. So many workers dread facing the office (or restaurant, or retail store, etc.) at the beginning of each new work week.

What can you do if you would rather pull the covers over your head and pretend the world doesn’t exist? Can affirmations really help with work?

Yes, they can.

Start by answering a few questions about your relationship with your job. Be specific in your answers. Very specific. General answers won’t help you solve the problem.

• What do I dislike about my job?

• Why do I work?

• What is the worst that can happen at work today?

• Can I live with the worst case scenario?

• What do I like about my job?

• What do I want from my work?

Once you have your answers, use them to create affirmations. I’ll give you a few examples:

Q. What do I dislike about my job?

A. Having to get up at six a.m. to go to work.

Affirmation: Getting up early allows me to enjoy more of my day.

Q. Why do I work?

A. To make sure the mortgage is paid each month.

Affirmation: I am grateful that my job earns enough to provide a nice home to live in.

Get the picture?

Now try it for your own situation.

Of course, I’m not advocating staying with a job you utterly hate. Or in a hostile work situation. However, you can still use affirmations even in these circumstances.

Examples:

• I am moving into a better job.

• I am finding my dream job.

Do you have suggestions for job-related affirmations? How do you handle the mental blocks related to work? I look forward to your answers! Make sure to comment.

Affirmations for Two

Relationships are a lot of work. We all know this, especially if we are in one. Some days, you look at your significant other and wonder, “what was I thinking?” Other days, they walk on water, so to speak.

Keeping the relationship strong is a two-person job. And you can use affirmations together to further strengthen your bond.

First, make sure your partner wants to participate. Not everyone is comfortable using affirmations in front of others. That’s okay. There is another way (I’ll discuss it in a minute). If your partner is willing, the next step is -

Love one another

Choose an affirmation to use. Remember to keep them positive, present and simple.

Samples:

I love you. (When sincere, this is one of the most

powerful affirmations

couples can use.)

You are special.

We belong together.

We are a team.

After you’ve chosen an affirmation to use, you can use it in a number of ways.

1. Sit together, facing one another. Look each other in the eye and repeat the affirmation back and forth to one another with feeling.

2. Say the affirmation to one another as you enter or leave each other’s company throughout the day. Even if you are walking out of one room to another, stop, look at your partner, and repeat the affirmation.

3. When you are being intimate, this is also a good time for eye contact and to share the affirmation you’ve chosen.

Over time, you may develop signals or other “inside” gestures to share the affirmation without saying it. A quick squeeze of your partner’s hand can say, “I believe in you.” A kiss on the ch

eek can say, “I love you.” Each of these builds intimacy and strengthens the core of your relationship.

It won’t make problems go away, but it will serve to remind you why you bother to work on those problems in the first place. A strong affirmation between partners will also reaffirm

to each of you why you are together in the first place. You will begin to see your partner in a less critical light, recalling all of the little things that made you fall in love.

As I promised, there is a way for couples to

share affirmations, even if the exercises above are more than they are ready for. All the person has to do is mentally repeat the affirmation each time they look at their partner. This can be used together with a physical gesture to reiterate that commitment. Over time, confidence and intimacy may make the partner willing to share in one of the above methods for reaffirming your relationship.

Remember, this is about strengthening your bond and sharing your love. Keep it simple and don’t force it. Let your partner do what is most comfortable to begin with. And -

Affirm your relationship!

Are Affirmations Against Your Religion?

I had an interesting conversation with someone yesterday about this blog. This woman is someone I consider a friend, albeit not a close one. She is a devout Christian, though I will not disclose her church affiliation because this is not the point.

She told me that in her opinion, affirmations were against her religion. She seems to think they are a new age concept, therefore, dangerous to her salvation.

Regardless of my belief system or hers, I decided to do a little investigating. Doing so was easy because I had recently been listening to The Power of Positive Thinking audio book. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale advocates the use of affirmations – from the Christian Bible!

For example:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“This is the day the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Of course, I don’t want to debate theology. Again, not the point of this post. I just want to encourage everyone who fears affirmations are against their faith to turn to their holy books and find the positive statements there that can edify them.

In the Christian faith, scripture memorization is considered a great thing. How do we commit something to memory? We repeat it. Over and over. Sounds like affirming to me. What do you think?

Affirming something is simply stating it as if it were already true. If you believe the Bible is true, affirm this. If you believe something else, affirm it.

Am I completely off track here? Please do not turn this into a theology debate. Flamers and trolls will have their posts deleted. As will anyone who launches a personal attack on another commenter. So please offer considered, thoughtful answers to my question. I’m interested to see where this goes.