May 18: What Are You Affirming About Your Future?

What do you affirm about yourself and your future?

This week-end, I recalled something that happened several years ago while my wife and I were at the farm. It was one of those very dark nights that people who have lived in the city or suburbs all their lives would describe as “creepy”. I went out on the front porch and examined the dark sky looking for rain clouds. All I saw was blackness, no moon, no shadows—I became aware of that amalgam of feelings—isolation and a sense of tranquility. As my gaze dropped from the sky to the meadow in front of the house, I thought I was back in the city—the field was lit up like Times Square. At first, my mind was taken aback by the sight, then I realized that there were thousands of fireflies, seemingly stacked several layers high hovering over the ground as far as the eye could see.

As I looked on this phenomenon of nature, I stepped far enough into the yard to have a panoramic view of the meadow, fireflies and the pitch black sky. Transfixed by the wonder I was beholding the only thought running through my mind was an affirmation that life was good! Finally, I tore myself away from the scene and went back into the house, but that simple affirmation that life was good lifted my spirits and put a smile on my face.

Thinking about my fireflies in the meadow experience and the power of affirmations reminded of a conversation that I’d had a few days before with a retired friend who volunteered how he learned about the power of affirmations. As a young executive he was sent to a retreat where he was told to write down ten things he wanted to achieve over the next ten years. Then he was told to turn them into statements of fact. Instead of saying, “I would like to have a nice house” they were to be specific and say, “By (a certain date) I will have a house with six bedrooms and a swimming pool.” Next, he was to read over these affirmative statements several times each day. “You know what,” my friend said, “I did what they suggested and everyone of my ten things became a reality—many of them long before the ten year time limit. The guys who thought it was hokum were left in my dust!”

The greatest power in the world is the power of the human mind to create conditions to bring about those things that we constantly affirm. So I ask again, what are you affirming about yourself and your future? Are you saying, “I would like” or “I want” instead of “I will have”? Are you fuzzy in what you want or do you clearly affirm what it is you will have?

Let me give seven topics you should begin using positive affirmations about everyday. Affirm that you are a happy person: remember what Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be”. Affirm your abilities: stop demeaning yourself, look yourself squarely in the eye and affirm that you have the ability to handle anything! Affirm your potentials: Make an honest assessment of what you are capable of becoming and daily affirm that you will be that person. Affirm the possibilities in your problems instead of affirming the power of your problem over your future. Affirm Your Expectations For The Future: Follow the example of my retired executive friend, make your list of ten things you want to achieve, then affirm that you will have them within a specific time frame (such as five or ten years). Affirm That Which Nurtures You: Daily affirm those things from which you draw spiritual and inner power, inspiration and motivation. Affirm how what you are doing makes a differences in your life, your families life and the lives those who work with you.

Instead of signing off with my usual, “Have a great and profitable week” let me be the first to affirm for you…YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT AND PROFITABLE WEEK!
Robert Hidde