8 Lessons From A Recent 30-day Affirmation Challenge
In July, I did a 30-Day Affirmation Challenge and I thought it would be cool to share what I learnt.
I was scrolling through my usual meditation app at the end of June and saw there was a challenge coming up on affirmations.
At this point I already knew about affirmations and used them in my business. But to be honest I’d never delved into them as a practice.
So, this got me curious.
I wanted to know –
What *exactly* are affirmations? Are they really everything they’re cracked up to be? And how could I use them better moving forward?
To find out, I signed up!
So, what was involved in this 30-Day Challenge?
It was simply 30 separate, guided, affirmation-based meditations. Just audio-based ones, which lasted for 5mins each and were run by a different person each day.
When I say *guided*, I mean there was someone talking – generally they were saying affirmations and giving me time to repeat them to myself.
So, what did I learnt across the course of the Challenge?
1. THEY’RE DIFFERENT FROM MANTRAS
I had always thought an affirmation and a mantra were the same thing. But that’s actually not correct.
An affirmation is a positive statement or positive intention and is generally a sentence. Something you want to focus on and remind yourself of. E.g. I am worthy.
Which is quite different from a mantra. A mantra on the other hand, is apparently generally only one word. E.g. ‘Omm’.
2. THEY CAN WORK FOR ANY TOPIC
You can have affirmations centred around almost any topic you can think of. E.g.
- Confidence
- Anxiety
- Productivity
- Gratitude
- Resilience
- Motivation
- Weight Loss etc
Essentially anything you want to focus on or improve/decrease, you can create an affirmation around!
3. THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES
Going into this Challenge I thought affirmations had to start with “I am… “, but I learnt that’s absolutely not the case at all. Here are some of the common types of affirmations I noticed:
- I am … xyz
- I am capable of … xyz
- I am free from … xyz
- I am grateful for … xyz
- I am willing to … xyz
- I accept … xyz
- I feel …xyz
- I call on … xyz
- Today I choose to … xyz
4. YOU CAN PRACTICE IT ANYWHERE
You don’t have to be still / sitting down / lying / with your eyes closed! I pretty much always listened to them whilst doing something else.
E.g. Whilst going for a walk, driving, cooking, etc
This was the best way I could integrate them into my busy days!
5. THEY’RE MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN SAID OUT LOUD
I did a mixture of just listening to someone else saying them, thinking them myself, and then saying them out loud. I definitely felt a massive difference when I said them out loud.
Obviously, that will look a little weird if there are people around, but you don’t have to shout them, you can be subtle. You just have to really *feel* them. That’s what I found made the biggest difference.
6. THEY’RE BETTER WHEN THEY’RE SHORT
To me, part of the power of an affirmation is it’s short and punchy. That gets lost when the affirmation itself is really long.
This one is too long for me:
E.g. Every day I gain greater mastery at focussing on positive thoughts
Personally, I’d make that shorter.
E.g. Every day I think more positively
7. THEY CAN BE REMINDERS OR ASPIRATIONAL
An affirmation might simply reinforce something you already believe / know, or be something aspirational you want to grow into.
E.g. One you already believe might be
I am grateful for my friends and family
E.g. One that might be aspirational could be
I am not bound by other’s expectations of me
In my opinion, both have their place.
8. THEY NOTICEABLY BOOST YOUR MOOD & MINDSET
I loved the experience! They made me feel amazing!
It made me feel happier, less stressed, more resilient, more confident, and calmer, in an instant, in that exact moment.
It made me realise how much I needed to hear those things from myself. It also made me realise that I don’t say nice things enough.
So, what’s my overall view on affirmations?
They are well worth it!!
Personally, I will definitely continue using them.
I actually really liked having guided affirmations – the variety in the affirmations was cool and broadened what I would have ever thought about on my own.
So, I will continue with guided affirmations when I’m walking. However, I’ll also continue creating some of my own, that are tailored to what I want to work on or focus on that day/week/month.
If you’re curious to try out affirmations for public speaking, here are some you could use.
If you can, try and say them *out loud* and really *feel them*
- What I know deserves to be shared
- I am worthy of speaking on stage
- My blend of experiences is unique to me
- I don’t have to be the most knowledgeable person
- I don’t need to know the answers to every question
- Every time I speak, I grow as a speaker
- It’s possible to change who I am as a speaker
- I am not defined by my past
- Public speaking is a skill to be learnt
- I enjoy sharing my ideas with others
- I love helping people with my knowledge
- Public speaking is a choice I make
- I am in control of my own thoughts
- People don’t care as much as I think they do
- Others want me to succeed, not fail
- It’s not the end of the world if I’m nervous
- I’m human and don’t have to be perfect
I’d love to know – what’s your view on affirmations!?
Until next time,
Emily
Emily Edgeley is a Public Speaking Coach for the Technology industry. Since 2017 she’s run over 100 group coaching sessions, coached more than 200 people privately, and formally supported first time and experienced speakers at 10 Conferences, covering 1000+ people across the globe.
She’s on a mission to help anyone in the Tech arena learn how to speak with clarity, impact, and confidence, whether that’s at work or at a Conference. So they can share their ideas competently, elevate their personal brand and start to enjoy ‘public speaking’!
She’s also a regular podcast guest, a writer, a mum of one, a massive dog lover and a fan of cryptic crosswords.
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