Our thoughts have a lot of power. The thoughts you have about yourself create your internal talk. Your internal talk forms your beliefs about yourself and your place in the world. One way you can learn how to harness the power of your thoughts is to use affirmations. Affirmations are positive, concise statements that help you visualize and believe in the truth of what you’re declaring.

AFFIRMATIONS FOR A POSITIVE AND PEACEFUL HOLIDAY

Positive affirmations offer many different benefits, including: decreasing stress, overcoming negative self-talk and building confidence. During the holidays, there can be pressures to connect with family and friends and to create magical experiences for our children. This year, we’re dealing with added challenges of the pandemic and how to find creative ways to feel connected and keep the holiday spirit alive. Positive affirmations can be especially helpful to use during the holidays as a way to be present and feel inner balance, no matter what is going on in our outer world.

I AM GROUNDED.

Getting grounded is the most important, foundational step you can take to help you achieve the inner calm and joy you deserve – during the holidays and beyond. The more you’re able to stay balanced and connected to what really matters to you, the more you’ll be able to manage the extra energetic pressures of the season from a place of peace and mindfulness.

Prioritize Self-Care: Commit to a simple, daily ritual to bring balance and calm, even if you only have one to five minutes. Choose something that feels good for you, no judgment. When you focus on your self-care, it helps you stay connected to your true self and core desires. From this root practice, a lot of the pressure and stress will fade away.

I GO WITH THE FLOW.

During the holidays, it can be so easy to get swept up in the pressure to buy the best gifts or to create a perfectly styled experience as a way to have a happy holiday. Even though it’s okay to have standards and ideas for how you want things to be, it can also be really helpful to let yourself relax into what ends up happening. Sometimes, there’s just no way for things to be the way we envisioned (who could have ever predicted 2020?!) – and when you learn to go with the flow, you can find the joy in the way things actually are.

Practice this affirmation in water! Go swimming, take a long bath or shower — being in water helps your body and mind feel more fluid too.

I AM GRATEFUL.

The holiday season is a time when it can be common to get caught up in our emotions about the past and our desires for the future. We can forget to pay attention to what’s right in front of us and enjoy what’s happening in the moment. One of the benefits of practicing gratitude is that it can help you find happiness in the things you already have in your life, rather than keeping your mind focused on the things you don’t have. In addition to stating the affirmation, here are some simple gratitude practices to try: Tell your family and friends why you’re grateful for them; Be aware of, and take time to help people in your community and around the world who don’t have their basic needs met in the way you do;

Start a gratitude journal- every night, list three things you’re grateful for.

TIPS FOR USING POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• Experiment with different times to use them to see what works best for you: when you
  wake up, before you go to sleep, in the shower, while you’re driving.
• Write affirmations down in different places to use as helpful reminders
• Use these examples to create your own affirmations that are personal to you
• Make sure they feel natural to you and like something you’d say

Repeat them a lot – Repetition is important for controlling your monkey mind! Remember, you have the power within to find peace even amidst the chaos of the outer world.

Inhale calm. Exhale stress.

We are one.