What Is Personal Affirmation?
An affirmation is self-talk in its highest form. If you repeat your affirmation often, it will help you make choices that will strengthen the personal qualities needed to achieve your goals and dreams. Of course, simply creating an affirmation is insufficient to offset years of negative programming. Affirmation needs reinforcement to gain influence in your life. Some suggestions to empower your affirmation include:
• Repeat your affirmation: to remember the qualities you have chosen to strengthen.
• Dispute your inner critic: To quiet your inner critic, simply recall a specific event in your past when you displayed a quality that is in your affirmation.
• Align your words and deeds: At each choice point, be what you affirm!
What to Do
In this activity, you will learn how to repeat your affirmation and visualize the accomplishment of one of your most important goals or dreams. Once you vividly picture this ideal outcome, you will have strengthened your commitment to achieve it, and you will know how to do the same thing with all of your goals and dreams.
Write an Essay: Visualize the accomplishment of one of your most important goals/dreams
Write at least one full page of essay visualization of the exact moment in the future when you are experiencing the accomplishment of your biggest goal or dream in any desired role. Describe the scene of your success as if it is happening to you now. For example, if your desire is to graduate from a four-year university with a 4.0 GPA you might write:
I am dressed in a long, blue robe, the tassel from my graduation cap tickling my face. I look out over the thousands of people in the audience, and I see my mother, a smile spreading across her face. I hear the announcer call my name. I feel a rush of adrenaline, and chills tingle on my back as I take my first step onto the stage. I see the college president smiling, reaching her hand out to me in congratulations. I hear the announcer repeat my name, adding that I am graduating with highest honors, having obtained a 4.0 average. I see my classmates standing to applaud me. Their cheers flow over me, filling me with pride and happiness. I walk …
Remember the four keys to an effective visualization:
• Relax to free your imagination.
• Use present-tense verbs describing the experience as if you are talking to someone on the phone at the very moment you are doing it. I am going through the door…
• Use ALL five senses. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel (touch)?
• Include emotions. Imagine yourself feeling fantastic in this moment of grand accomplishment. You deserve to feel fantastic!
Include Personal Affirmation
In your essay, write a list of personal qualities (min. four) that seem the most essential in achieving your success. Explain how each of these qualities contributed, so you stayed on course.
Add a Picture
For visual appeal, consider also adding digital images that depict your visualization. You can upload digital pictures on a Word file and submit the file in Canvas.