• Fresh Views

    Affirmations: There’s no one better than to be myself

    It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen. – Muhammed Ali

    Simply put, an affirmation is a statement of what you want in your life.

    We recently learned of a new-ish YouTube channel developed by the American rapper Snoop Dogg himself, called Doggyland. He’s turning his rhymes into motivational affirmations for kids…and they work on adults too!  Have we piqued your interest? Check it out here

    Four of the affirmations you’ll hear there are :

    • There’s no one better than to be myself.
    • Today is going to be an amazing day.
    • I get better every single day.
    • I care about others.

    If this resonates with you, you’ll find additional affirmation videos on his channel .

    12 of Tami’s  favorite affirmations:

    • I am joyful. 
    • I am gentle. 
    • I am not easily offended and will not hold on to bitterness. 
    • I am patient.
    • I am self-controlled.
    • I am kind.
    • I am loved.
    • I am strong. 
    • I have not need for fear.
    • I will not worry. 
    • I am focused upon the best things. 
    • I am unfinished.

    While using the Five Minute Journal, Deb’s been using their tips for journaling.  One tip is to use the same affirmation every day if you’re struggling to come up with new affirmations and if you want to focus on one specific idea.  Deb’s daily affirmation since the start of 2023 is I can choose to be healthy! Her goals are to adopt more healthy habits over time, but to start with small, achievable goals. Deb is a big fan of Kelly Clarkson, and loves her affirmation at the end of her show each day,  “Have a great day, and if it’s not, try and change it.” Her message is a great personal challenge, as we wrote about last time, to encourage change and create the life you want! 

    Identify one or many  affirmations that resonate with what you want in your life and post it where you’ll frequently see it. Tami keeps a list on her refrigerator and both Deb and Tami write them down in their daily journal. Encourage your clients to identify affirmations to support their healthy choices and goal achievement.

    If you are a health care professional and interested in learning more about our solution-focused practice and approach, when you subscribe to our blog, we’ll send you in return a FREE resource of 10 Solution-Focused Questions to start a solution-focused discussion with your clients. 

    Follow us on Twitter @AFreshPOVforYou

    Deb is employed by Dexcom, but her words and opinions in this blog are her own.

    Tami is employed by the University of Kentucky HealthCare Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, but her words and opinions in this blog are her own.

  • Fresh Views

    Personal “challenges” can help create the life you want

    We both have this sign in our offices as a reminder

    The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

    As we both stay committed to our 5-minute daily journaling (we shared the beginning of this adventure in our last blog), today we want to share the impact of having a personal challenge to work on. The only way one can truly grow is by challenging yourself…whether it be challenging your abilities or your beliefs. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  Challenges lead to personal growth and improvement.

    Future visioning (a tenet and tool of solution-focused practice) and creating the life that you want requires stepping out of your comfort zone – that’s where we really learn and grow. A weekly challenge can help you go there.  A weekly challenge doesn’t have to be big or difficult, but something with intentionality – breaking out of  the daily grind.

    You may choose to have a personal “challenge of the day”, or a “challenge of the week”…whichever you prefer and is helpful to you.

     Here are 10 challenges that we’ve been trying:

    1. Be mindful and practice being present in the moment.
    2. Get adequate and good quality sleep.
    3. Start reading a new book. (One that we’ve both recently started is Atomic Habits by James Clear)
    4. State one daily affirmation for positive self talk. (You won’t want to miss our next post where we elaborate more on this).
    5. Write a text, email, or hand written message to someone you truly care about to let them know. 
    6. Curtail expectations of others.
    7. Do a random act of kindness.
    8. Give someone a compliment.
    9. Say no. If something doesn’t work for you, just say no.
    10. Start a 5-minute journal (hey, we’re doing good with this one and learning ALOT!)

    Do you think this approach can help your clients create the future that they want? Let us know your experiences and successful personal challenges that are helpful to you or your clients.

    If you are a health care professional and interested in learning more about our solution-focused practice and approach, when you subscribe to our blog, we’ll send you in return a FREE resource of 10 Solution-Focused Questions to start a solution-focused discussion with your clients. 

    Follow us on Twitter @AFreshPOVforYou

    Deb is employed by Dexcom, but her words and opinions in this blog are her own.

    Tami is employed by the University of Kentucky HealthCare Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, but her words and opinions in this blog are her own.