Daily Affirmations

I know this is going to sound really cheesy, but seriously, it helps. If you look in the mirror and repeat the same things over and over again while looking into your own eyes, it works. Of course you have to have the right attitude about it. You have to say it with some meaning instead of just as a "oh whatever I'll do this but it's stupid" sort of thing. If there's one thing I've learned in this life, it's that repetition is seriously effective, for both good or ill. If you are repeatedly told you are worthless, and then the word cycles endlessly through your head, you believe you are worthless. Similar tactics need to be used to combat that sort of negative self-talk. It's easier for negative things to root in your head, but if you repeat something positive long enough with enough conviction, you'll start to believe it. It's not going to happen overnight. It takes serious time and effort. But positive affirmations really do work. I wouldn't be doing half as well as I am right now overall without them. A year ago on Sunday, I wrote out this thing called the Mallory Manifesto (dorky, I know, but that's my style) and hung it on the wall near my door so I'd see it every time I left my room. I don't read it thoroughly every time I see it, but sometimes I just stop and look at it and think about how I was when I wrote that. I was pretty depressed and things seemed hopeless, but I was determined to pull myself out because I'd been in too deep for too long. So I wrote out a list of statements I needed to remember, signed it, dated it, and stuck it to the wall. Some of those negative things don't affect me as much anymore because I've managed to drill their positive opposites into my head. I can personally vouch for the power of daily affirmations, so long as you take them seriously and really ponder on them. I challenge all of you who struggle with certain negative thoughts that won't go away to write out a list of their positive opposites and put it somewhere you'll see it often: the mirror, by the door, over your bed. For example, if you think "I am not worth anything" write down "I am worth so much" and so on. Cheesy as it may seem, it really can work if you let it.