Mom’s Affirmations

I never thought affirmations were important. I thought they were cheesy, used by idiots, or used as attempts to convince oneself of being more powerful than they really are.

Growing up, my Mom would put affirmation cards on the bathroom mirror so we’d see them every day and my response was always ‘f&ck these things. I don’t need affirmations.’

It wasn’t until I started a job at Collective Evolution, which is an alternative media outlet, which happened to be renting space in the Kingbridge Institute just north of Toronto, which happened to be owned by a billionaire, that I realized I was wrong.

See, the Kingbridge Institute, was full of inspirational quotes and affirmations posted on the walls. Being that it was a hub for entrepreneurs and business, I started to realize that affirmations were essential to a) growing yourself, b) growing your wealth, and c) being influential and making an impact with your life.

Let’s look at what the word affirmation means:

noun. the act or an instance of affirming; state of being affirmed. the assertion that something exists or is true. something that is affirmed; a statement or proposition that is declared to be true. confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc.

So, to affirm is to declare a truth. So, therefore, if you have anything in your life that you think it’s true, you must be affirming that at some level.

Ok, so I’ve carried my Mom’s affirmations in my car since she passed on in early 2015, and so let’s look at one of them and see what’s there to learn, and how I might adjust it to make it a little stronger.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my Mom, and, but since affirmations have become super important to me, it’s become clear to me that lots of people are affirming things that could be adjusted for greater health, wealth, and well being.

“I always choose the path of most light.”

Ok. If that means something to you and gets your gears turning, awesome.

For me, it means a few things. One — I don’t always choose the path of most light. I mean, I don’t think I’m always choosing what the hell I’m doing half the time. I’m also not convinced that ‘choosing light over dark’ is always the best course of action, relative to whatever experience I’m having to choose for.

Ok ok, I could go off on a long rant, but here’s what’s also in here:

I am choosing.

How many times in the last year have you even reminded yourself of that? I know I haven’t. But just try that on for a second: I am choosing.

Maybe that helps you feel a bit of certainty, confidence, or bravery. Maybe that helps you just pause for a moment of self-awareness and maybe in that moment, you can make a new choice.

It’s those moments that affirmations are for — slowing down our perception of time, for a moment, to have the time and space for self-awareness so we can help ourselves grow.

But there’s another hangup, and these are so often missed by affirmation junkies — I can be choosing and still now do anything.

Like, I can choose to watch a show on Netflix and then not watch it, just as much as I can choose to make a million dollars and never do it. Choice and action are not automatically connected.

Mom’s not here anymore, at least physically, but I know she wanted to do more with her life, and maybe I’m helping her do that right now. Here’s my version of her affirmation that I’d give her and I’ll give to you:

I am choosing and walking the lightest path.

I kind of like that. It affirms that I’m choosing, it also affirms that I’m willing to drop baggage, take the path of least resistance and that I’m not only choosing, I’m also doing the thing.

And that’s important. Because the faster we can choose and the faster we authentically act on our decisions corresponds to the amount of fulfillment you’ll have in your life.

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So what’s really synchronous here is that as I finished writing the script for this video, my coworker Nadeem pops into the office and shares part of a Muslim Prayer.

It translates to “May God always keep you on the path of growth and success.”

Weren’t we just talking about that?

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I’m Stephan and if you love affirmations, growing in your life, and making the most of what life has to offer you and vice versa, then it’s been an honor serving you today. I hope you get something meaningful from it and maybe, just maybe, make a small adjustment to how you affirm yourself so you can have greater meaning and magnificence out of your day.

I believe that small adjustments lead to big changes over time. And if you want to take that a bit further, send me a message or leave a comment. I might invite you to be a part of my next masterclass where I’ll deep-dive you into your identity, your behavior, and equip you with a tool to help you maximize your growth in what’s already most meaningful and important to you.

See you next time.