Now that the hype of the New Year Resolutions has come and gone and we are already into February we've got an opportunity to step back from our busy lives and take stock of last year and more importantly - what we want to achieve this year.

You should always take time to analyse how you got on over the past year. What did you achieve? and what did you not achieve? Your positives, but also your negatives.  You should really be looking at how you can improve the key areas in your life, for example: Your Mental/Physical Health, Relationships and Finances are the three areas that most people want to make improvements in. Then, once you get some clarity about what you want to work on you can start to put a step by step plan in place to achieve your targets.

But be warned - Coming up with a plan is the easy part. The hard part is being able to get up every morning with the enthusiasm and energy to make sure you take the necessary steps to make your plans come true. 

In this post I want to give you just one simple tip on how you can achieve your goals, and therefore achieve your best year ever. 

One of the fastest routes to raising your confidence and yourself motivation is to use affirmations. The effect that negative self-talk, people, and situations can have on our lives is massive. Using positive affirmations is a proactive way of counterbalancing the negativity that we can be subjected to by both ourselves and others on a daily basis. Affirmations are the best way to ensure that you provide yourself with a continuous supply of positive self-talk and more importantly a continuous, supportive, positive mindset. This is essential if you're going to make 2023 your best ever year.

Affirmations are positive statements that we can repeat to ourselves in multiple ways on a daily basis. You can write them down, you can read them out loud and you can even listen to them.

The best time to say your affirmations is first thing in the morning and last thing at night. The reason we need to say the affirmations twice daily is because we are trying to grow a new positive picture about a specific action we want to take or a goal we want to achieve. The more we focus on the goal and the positive outcome we want to achieve the more we believe a successful outcome inevitable. This positive belief then steers all our actions in the direction of success.

The important thing is to have the affirmation be relevant to what you are aspiring to achieve. If you are inclined to write your own personalized affirmations I would recommend you follow these 6 simple guidelines.

Affirmation Guidelines       

1. Start your affirmations with "I" or "My."

2. Make your affirmations short so they're easier for you to remember.

3. Write your affirmations in the present tense.

4. Don't begin your affirmations with "I want" or "I need."

5. Make sure all your affirmations are positive statements.

6. Add emotional words to your affirmations

Here are three of my favorite affirmations that I use on a daily basis to keep me committed to my nutrition and exercise routine. Maybe it would be a good idea to install one of the affirmations below or one of your own, as your screen saver or as a welcome note on your phone to help you maintain focus. 

1. I enjoy my workouts and always feel more energised and confidant afterwards.
2. I always drink the right amount of water for my needs every day.
3. I love to eat healthy foods because they provide me with maximum energy.

I have no doubt that you will notice the difference in your self-belief within a few short days and I would recommend you place your affirmations at the top of your daily to-do list. In my opinion, they are the most powerful tool we have available to us, which allow us to build unwavering belief in our ability and greatly improve our performance levels in all we do.

“One thing you have absolute control over is your own thoughts.
That's what puts you in a position to control your own destiny”

Now it's time for you to start to construct and deploy your own personalized affirmations and help yourself achieve your own personal best in 2023.