Happy New Year! Affirmations
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
affirmations, mindful, listening, optimism, year, melanie, positive, declare, universe, morning, present tense, podcast, point, receiving dock, achieve, uplifting, share, lovers, book, episode
TRANSCRIPT
0:00 Hello and welcome to Mindful in 5, helping you discover your peaceful path. I'm your host Spiwe Jefferson, author of the Mindful in 5 book series.
0:15 This is the dawn of a wonderful new season in our lives. A time when we look back at the year that has gone by and we look ahead in anticipation, and bring forward the lessons that we learned the year before to influence and elevate our performance in the year to come. Mindful Ninjas, where are you in this moment? Say present because you're present in the moment. If your mind is wandering, just gently bring it back to be here now.
1:08 So let's briefly take a look at the past year in 2023, Mindful in 5 reached 27 countries, with the top five being the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Mexico. If you are outside the US, send me an email at info at SpiweJefferson.com with a hello or tell me how you are incorporating mindfulness into your day. For a chance to be featured in the weekly emails or on the podcast. There are links in the notes for this episode to contact me. Now, let us take a quick look at the top five most listened to episodes of 2023.
2:09 At number five was the Insight titled be steadfast? It was all about how do you remain committed to your goals and objectives? Even when the world seems to tilt on its axis because life happens. Take a listen if you missed that one because it is evergreen, it will always be relevant in our lives.
02:29 At number four was what optimism is and why we all want it with my special guest Brent.
02:47 Brent: So let's start with what I - what I believe optimism is not for me. It's not perpetual sunshine and happiness. I just life isn't always great. At least it hasn't always been great for me. Some days are just tough. And the idea that we should be positive all the time feels like a self induced stressor just doesn't feel real or attainable or authentic. At least it doesn't feel that way. To me. Optimism is not just about being happy or being born. With a positive outlook. There's a lot more to it. And optimism is a skill that we can all learn and apply at work and at home.
03:31 Spiwe: At number three was the 2023 New Year insight titled Happy New Year just today. This one is evergreen. It is about how you can take your bee hags your big, hairy audacious goals, your big objectives, your big resolutions for 2024 in this case, and apply them and reduce them to manageable bite sized pieces that you can implement just today.
04:12 At number two was actually the season three close out where we looked back on what we had done and where we had been in season three, as we looked ahead to the current season - season four and at number one the most listened to episode of 2023 was (drum roll) Listening at the Speed of Business with Melanie Jones,
04:54 Melanie: So I want to start by saying I absolutely am aware of the financial implications of my act. Since, but I kind of find the experience today funny in in a way that you know, you kind of laugh at yourself as you grow as a leader. So at that point in my career, I was an operations manager, leading the build out of an operation for an organization. So it was a complete startup. And I was the on site leader during the construction. As it happens during that, that timeframe, in businesses, we were behind schedule. So the construction was behind our hiring was behind. We were under a time crunch to get everything done to hit the target startup date. I was working a lot of hours and just happened to be in the building late one night, walking across the receiving dock. And one of the foreman for the construction project stopped me shove some blueprints in my face and said, you know, these aisles like they're going to be about xx feet wide. Aisles in a warehouse are generally 12 to 13 feet, I was not listening to him. I had something else on my mind, I was on my way to go do something else. So I just said sure to him and kept walking.
06:14 Spiwe: It was an excellent episode where she talks about leadership and the challenge of listening in a fast paced environment where issues are being raised. Projects are ongoing, people are coming at you. And you are being asked to solve all kinds of problems very, very quickly. Melanie was vulnerable enough to share some of her fumbles along the way and situations where she did not listen well, and the impact of her inability to focus on what was in front of her and what happened because she did not really listen. In addition to that she provides strategies on what it does mean to listen at the speed of business and how it can impact your working life for the better.
07:12 So if you missed that episode, or any of the top five, I linked them in the notes for this podcast for your listening pleasure.
07:24 Now, on to 2024 (funky beat transition). How can we effectively start our year. mindfulness teaches us to align our heart, mind and actions. Today we focus on using affirmations to establish these intentions. Unlike resolutions, I use yearly affirmations in my morning meditation time, to reinforce my aspirations and attitudes for the year. I actually set my affirmations at the beginning of the year, and I repeat them every single morning during my meditation time for the rest of that year. Affirmations are positive present tense declarations that shape our beliefs and goals. They remind us of our desired selves and experiences, morning affirmations plant seeds, guiding our thoughts, emotions and actions throughout the day. Here is a guide to creating effective affirmations.
08:37 First, be clear and specific. Go beyond generic statements like I want to be happy. Define what happiness means to you. For instance, I am finding joy in daily moments.
08:54 The next suggestion is use present tense. Affirmations are stronger in the present tense. So for example, you would say, I am confident and not, I will be confident. This aligns with the belief that the universe responds to present tense manifestations, a concept shared in Rhonda Byrne's book, “The Secret”, and actually similar to biblical teachings about faith and creation. Whether you think of it as the universe is going to conspire to make happen, the thing that I want to happen, or for God lovers, whether you recognize that God is the Creator of the universe, and all the universal laws that conspire to make happen, the thing that you want to happen, is, for purposes of our discussion somewhat beside the point, God lovers know that the Bible says, seek and you shall find, Ask, and you shall receive Knock, and the door will be open to you. And one of the reasons it's so important to use the present tense is because the concept that the book, The Secret unpacks is this idea that if what you say is aspirational, I want to get out of debt, I want to be confident, I want to find a husband, you will always be in the constant state of wanting, because that's what you said. That was what your aspiration was, it was always to be wanting. Whereas if you declare yourself to already have the thing that you want, I am confident, I am debt free, or even better, yet, I have, I am abundant in all the resources I need. Or I am happy and grateful that I have no debt, you are much more likely to find yourself in the very circumstance that you declare yourself to have.
12:00 The third step in creating a great affirmation is stay positive. Frame your affirmation positively. So instead of I am not stressed, you could use I am embracing calm. And then the fourth thing you can do to empower and fuel your great affirmation is feel it. Your affirmation should evoke joy and excitement. One of the reasons I like to do it in the morning is because I like to visualize, visualize what it looks like what it feels like, what it sounds like, what it smells like for you to have this goal, this objective that you are seeking, and behave as if you already have it.
12:57 And then the fifth thing is Reflect on your affirmations. Do they feel uplifting? If yes, you're on the right path? are they negative? Or would they hurt other people? You are not going to be successful? I would argue if you're trying to achieve success on the backs of others or at the expense of others. And so check the positivity and the value and the validity of your affirmations. Are they uplifting to you? And are they potentially positive to others? Do they create positive outcomes for others instead of just yourself? That's a bonus. If yes, you are on the right path. Spend at least five minutes each morning focusing on these affirmations. Find a quiet spot. Breathe deeply and recite your affirmations. visualizing your realization. Embrace the emotions that they bring. If doubts arise, remember, persistence is key. As long as there's breath in your body, there's an opportunity to affirm and prepare yourself for the positive change you want to see. An example from my personal experience is that I did finally meet the husband of my dreams. But it took eight years from my first affirmation. So don't despair, even if it feels like it's taking forever. I had a professional aspiration for a long time. And it was three years before I actually realized that affirmation. And so sometimes it can take a while. But be persistent and prepare your life for these affirmations to flourish.
14:48 The other thing to do is behave in a manner consistent with the affirmation that you want. In other words, you can't have an affirmation about being healthy, even as you're eating Krispy Kreme Doughnuts every day (boing boing sound). So as we enter this new year, let's use affirmations to guide us towards a year of growth and achievement. Let's manifest our dreams into reality. Here's to a mindful and fulfilling year. Until next week, this is Spiwe saying Be mindful and be well.
James@DiscovertheVoice
15:28 Thank you for listening to Mindful in 5. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend. Follow and rate it on your favorite podcast platform. Pick up your signed copy of the book in journal from SpiweJefferson.com or unsigned copies from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wherever you get your books. Visit SpiweJefferson.com to download sample chapters of the book, watch videos and become a mindful ninja. Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts. Until next time, be mindful and be well.