Affirmation Cards: Set Goals to Change Your Life

What do you do when you know you want to grow, but you don't have money or insurance to seek professional consultation of any kind? The answer lies in goal setting. You may find it hard to believe, but you can make some very big changes in your life by simply setting goals and working toward them in a positive, measurable, doable way. You can improve your financial, emotional, intellectual and/or physical condition through the simple method of goal setting.

The one thing standing in your way is you! You must have the faith in your self to chart your own course and then follow it. Without a strong sense of self, you will remain limited. When you are able to give yourself the credit and the support you need to succeed in achieving your goals, you will achieve them. It is really as simple as that. The big benefit of having faith in yourself is that you will then inspire others to have faith in you, and your relationships will improve.

But how can you increase your self-confidence and teach yourself to support you, if lack of self confidence is what stands between you and your goals? What steps must you take to achieve the goal of gaining self confidence? You must simply adjust the way you look at yourself. Low self esteem is the result of looking in the mirror - whether an actual or imagined one - and counting off all your negative qualities while ignoring your positive attributes. To change your perception, you must literally reverse this process.

Make a list of the things that you admire in others. Good sense of humor, nice smile, easygoing attitude, generosity, and so on. Make the list as long as you want it to be. Include everything you admire in other people. After making this positive list, you will probably be in a pretty positive frame of mind! Now dress yourself nicely and sit in front of a mirror. Read through your list aloud once and tell your self that you possess the qualities on the list. Really! You may feel foolish, but tell yourself that you have a nice smile, are fun to be around, and so on. Even if you are not in good shape, tell yourself you are. The reason for this is that your mind will believe you! You believe what you say more than you believe anyone else. Now is the time to start being nice to your self and start treating you like a friend. These are affirmations. They strengthen your self-esteem and self-confidence.

Be honest, generous and kind to yourself. Use a highlighter to enhance those qualities you feel you very strongly and positively possess now! Look at your highlighted list. You are sure to securely possess a number of very nice attributes that you truly admire! The ones that you did not feel as strongly about are "works-in-progress". These are the ones you will set positive, measurable, doable steps to attain.

Now, while you are in a happy and positive frame of mind, make yourself a set of affirmation index cards using your whole list. List one of the positive attributes on each one. List it in the form of an affirmation. That is, write the quality in a way that says that you own it. For example, "I am an easy going person." Divide the cards into two stacks - one of attributes you already possess firmly (the ones you highlighted) and one of attributes that are "works-in-progress".

Each day, sit in front of your mirror or picture for a few minutes and work on two cards. One that lists an attribute you have already accomplished and one that lists a work in progress. On the one you have already accomplished, write a few words about how you accomplished it and how you will continue to exhibit and improve this positive attribute.

On the work in progress, write what you plan to do to perfect that attribute in yourself. Make it a positive, measurable, doable plan of action. For example, if the attribute is generosity, and the affirmation is, "I am a generous person." plan to do something positive and measurable to increase that quality in yourself. Set steps like these to attain your goal: "I will take a box of useful items to the local homeless shelter." "I will find out how I can volunteer to help." "I will set a time to come back and help." Give yourself a time-frame, and then take definite steps to achieve your goal within that time frame. When you have achieved everything you have written, move the card from the "work-in-progress" stack to the "achieved" stack.

You can follow this simple process with every attribute work in progress from "I smile often." to "I stay fit!" There are positive, measurable, doable steps you can take to achieve any and every goal. Identify them and follow them, and you will soon see yourself in a new light! One very nice thing about attribute index cards is that they are portable! You may find it helpful to carry your attribute of the day in your pocket, refer to it and make notes on it throughout the day. This is an excellent way to instill the qualities you desire in yourself. Go ahead! That positive quality is already yours! It's just waiting for you to believe in it!

Before you go to bed each night, count your blessings. Sit in front of your mirror and go through your stack of positive attributes that you have achieved and give yourself credit for firmly possessing these good traits. Make note (mentally or actually) of how your stack is growing as you achieve each trait that you admire step-by-step. Also, go through the stack of works-in-progress and tell yourself you already have them. They are like the contours of a statue trapped in marble waiting for you to sculpt them free!

Congratulate yourself on starting this important self-improvement project and sticking with it. You may want to keep a journal for this purpose. And even more important, if you happen to miss a day or two of working on your goals, don't beat yourself up! Forgive yourself, and pick up where you left off. Rest is an important part of achieving your goals, too!

As you work through your cards, you will feel yourself becoming more and more empowered to make positive changes in your own life and to become the person you truly admire. Realize that you are strong enough, resourceful enough, and creative enough to keep adding to that stack of positive attributes and keep enhancing each positive attribute you already possess.

Remember that this saying is absolutely true: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!" So take the first step. Go out and buy yourself a pack of jumbo index cards and a good pen today!

LINKS:
Advice On Gaining Health By Nurturing Your Self
http://advice.com/latest/article/2009/03/27/Advice+on+Gaining+Health+By+Nurturing+Your+Self

Advice On How To Accentuate The Positive!
http://www.advice.com/article.jsp?id=342736d9914f429cafe3e4068f00e600

Advice On Boosting Your Child's Self-Confidence
http://www.advice.com/article.jsp?id=ffa6bad7484c4af993c932621add499b