from a dancing chicken to a positive self-image: the power of daily affirmations for you and your children

ok so how many of you have done daily affirmations
you know, that thing when you say great things about yourself aloud
i mean, don’t we always say nice things about ourselves
well if you fall into the ‘saying nice things to myself out loud is cheesy and weird’ camp 
you have been in good company with me
until now

doing something new in your life that requires you to stretch and grow is hard work
it makes you reach down deep inside and pull out everything you’ve got
it takes all your insecurities and parades them straight in front of your face
you step out of that comfort zone and into that arena for the world to watch you squirm and struggle as you take those initial unsteady steps 

the subjection of ourselves to the scrutiny of our own doubts and the world’s peering eyes
makes it rather difficult to want to stay on that course
of ‘the new’
the dream
the quest
the change
and especially long enough to reach that other side
the side of accomplishment, success, fulfillment, triumph
for by the time you have crossed over into those things
most of the work has already been done

so how can we stay the course
for we all know why we must
why we want to
why we continue to place ourselves in positions to grow, change, dream
but that ‘why’ is different for every one of us
what makes us get up and try again after a fall is different for you and me

as i have been on this journey of being a new business owner and building my success story
a legacy for my family and those of you who link arms with me in the process
my ‘why’ has grown 
but what has gotten in the way of achievement has been myself
my own doubts
my own fears
in myself
those self-sabotaging thoughts and barbed wire i placed around my dreams as i wrote about here 

so how have i overcome them and turned them off
oh they are still there
they creep in whenever i give them a crack of opening into my mind
and even the little ones that leak in are loud and echoing
you’re not good enough
you’re inexperienced
you’ll never be as successful as them
what makes you think you can do this

i think you know them all too well

during my trip to Baltimore for Nerium i experienced something different that i had never experienced before
something that pierced me to the very heart and brought me to tears
it was the power of affirmations
in a room full of 5,000 people a man named Mark Michaud stood on stage and asked for our participation in an experiment
he first asked us stand up and act like we had won a million dollars
yell, scream, jump up and down
however we would act and really mean it
i have to say that i felt very apprehensive standing up
you know that feeling you had at camp or at your music performance when you had to flap your arms like a chicken or do some painful choreography of acting like a dead tree
yeah it was kind of like that at first
but as i looked around and saw others exploding with excitement
hugging each other, screaming, waving their arms in the air
the energy was palpable and contagious
i felt the temperature rise inside of me as i began to join them in the jubilation of winning a million dollars
Mark then instructed us to then take that excitement and with that feeling of positive energy and true belief
repeat loudly after him
wait...what?
we’re going to do that thing where i say nice things about myself?
out loud?

but i just went with it
with all the energy and belief i could muster

and then it began

i am a leader
i am a winner
i am changing the world
i control my destiny
i am strong
i am courageous
i overcome challenges positively
i help people daily
i am a warrior
i am unstoppable
i love my life
i am grateful
i am worthy
i can do anything
i am a champion
this is my time
this is my time
this is my time

as i yelled out these words i was transformed
i felt of their truthfulness in my soul
i am strong
i am worthy
these two particularly struck me to the core as i repeated these for the world to hear
it changed me

why is it so hard for us to think so positively about ourselves
if we are not going to believe these things about us
who will we believe
we must realize the impact our underlying thoughts play out in all of our actions
we need to fix our thinking

on that plane ride home as i sat there in the rays of the sun
i thought about the impression saying those simple things about myself made
and i thought about my children
how do i want them to think about themselves
how do i want them to think about who they are now, who they can become, what they can dream and achieve
i decided that these daily affirmations needed to be a part of our routine
and so it began

each morning on the way to school we take turns thinking of something wonderful that we just won or received
a trip to Disneyland
an endless supply of Legos
a house on top of the mountain
a million dollars
a trip to Paris

Felicity now chimes in
‘what did you win Mom’

and then we channel that enthusiasm into our daily affirmations
or good words
{we are trying to come up with a more kid-friendly term...suggestions welcome}
sometimes one person is in charge
sometimes we take turns

i am awesome
i am obedient
i am a worker
i am a winner
i am strong
i am a champion
i am a child of God
i like Legos
{somehow they are always involved}

i confess there have been many mornings i have not wanted to do this
some mornings we are running late
the fight over the front seat becomes intolerable
so and so breathed on me
and the tone of our excitement and decibel level may vary
but we have done it every day
i want my children to feel of the power of a positive self-image
i want my children to know from a young age that they are worthy of achievement
whatever form that may come in
they are worthy
we all are

i have read that how you speak to your children will become the voice in their head
but i would say that how you speak to yourself about yourself truly is that voice
what does it say to you
what will you believe

i challenge you to try some daily affirmations
you may feel like a dancing chicken on a stage at first but i promise it will change you

how has a positive self-image helped you achieve your goals and dreams?
how have you instilled that in your own children?