I’m sure somewhere in your adult journey, you’ve probably heard about ‘Affirmations.’
My first introduction to self-affirmations was on SNL back in the early 90’s. Stuart Smalley would look in the mirror and tell himself, “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.” It was satirical and still being young and impressionable, I interpreted affirmations as phooey. “Who really does that?!”
It took years before I understood the power behind affirmations.
Last week, I heard a totally different approach.
I was at a fabulous conference, and the leader of the conference, Gary Pica, spoke many times about the Self-Instruction cards he created, carries every day, and has used for himself for decades. Those self-instructions keep him on track. They remind him of who he needs to be day in and day out in order to grow and perform in his business. And they tell him how he wants to act and respond to the situations in his life.
Gary talked about how those self-instruction cards helped him develop his self-image. He was able to become a better human because he was reminded daily of who he is striving to be. He made a deliberate decision of what to write on his self-instruction cards, and a deliberate action to grow and change who he was…and he’s still working on it all these years later.
The a-ha for me? Self-instructions sound way less “wooey-wooey” than Affirmations, and yet accomplish the same goal!!
I know plenty of people who would resonate with the concept of Self-Instructions (way more than wooey affirmations). Maybe you’re one of them. It’s easy to get started.
Go to the Notepad section on your phone. Or better yet, grab an index card – yes one of those old paper things; they are powerful!
Write down a self-instruction for yourself that will help you lean into a characteristic or habit you’d like to develop. (there are some examples below)
Set a reminder in your calendar 3x each day to read your self-instructions.
Then read them. Every day.
Create an avenue to take instructions from yourself, for yourself.
Instead of taking instructions from other people all day long, take instructions from yourself. It will deepen your self-confidence and self-image, and it will accelerate your path to becoming an even better version of yourself. Remember, you deserve it!