You can’t affirm your way into a new lifestyle, but it’s a damn good place to start.

Words are powerful. They are what we use to define our selves, someone, or something. They can stop us in our tracks and they can catapult us into extreme emotion. They also don’t mean shit if there’s no action backing them up. Listen, they are a great place to start though. Like I said in the beginning, words are what we use to define something. Let’s say that you wish to become a track running gold medalist, but the first thing you tell yourself when you think about it is, “I could NEVER accomplish something like that. I’m not fast enough. I can’t afford the right shoes, and I just started scrapbooking. I don’t want to take away from that.” Then you find yourself running your track every week with the the sense of “failed dreamer” running alongside you. They say you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, but you’ll never make it onto the court if you don’t believe you’re worthy of stepping foot on it in the first place. There are many ways we can break down this “not good enough” belief that runs through a majority of the population. Societal conditioning, generational imprinting, personal insecurities… the list can go on. It makes sense.

However, let’s play for a moment. The last few years I have been learning the true power of words and how they fuel the belief systems that play in our minds. You see our words cast spells, that’s why when we write we SPELL things out. We have the ability to bless others with them, “I hope you have a great day!” and we have the ability to curse someone with our words, “I hope you fall and break your leg!” Yikes. Yet, the same applies when we speak about our personal selves as well. “I’m a lucky person. I always win!” vs “Something bad always happens to me. It’s inevitable.” You see, what happens is what we tell ourselves our body tends to believe or if heard often enough the neurons in our brain will begin to shift patterns to create truth in what it’s hearing. Then we will believe it. For example, if you tell a child every day from the time their born up until 5 years old that they cannot swim and will drown if they try then they will most likely grow up afraid of the water and fearful to learn swimming. That’s generational imprinting. If society tells a person that the only way to be successful is to have a 40-hour work week job, a house, two cars, a dog, a baby, and a cat with a college degree hung up in their living room, then most people will believe that’s what they need to be successful. That’s societal conditioning. When we follow these beliefs then we will align our every action with that belief. If we think, “Oh, I can’t do yoga, I’m not flexible enough.” Then… I think you can guess it from here. We probably won’t step foot on to the yoga mat, or at least, not for very long. We have to REMIND ourselves that we CAN achieve the very thing we want. The lifestyle we want, the job we want, the car we want, the hobby we want, the WHATEVER we want in order to even take the first steps needed to direct ourselves that way!

So, if your goal is to someday be a gold medalist rapping hat model then start telling yourself every day that you ARE a gold medalist rapping hat model and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to align with that truth. Run extra each day, write and practice your songs, take pictures in hats even if it’s for your portfolio and not a magazine and then PLAY PRETEND. Pretend you are running through the finish line and winning your medal every time you finish a run. Imagine your song is going on your record label and you're about to drop your next album for all of your fans. Pick up your phone and pretend you just received the call from the hottest hat magazine in the country and they are BEGGING you to come express your greatest talents in there newest edition. Have fun with it! Because life is not SO serious. It’s serious that you live out your dreams because you deserve it, but it’s not so SERIOUS that you are a failure if its not all happening for you. Things take time, practice, commitment, patience, and belief. Little by little, each baby step gets you there. So, my encouragement for you is this. Whatever goal/dream you’ve had that you’ve been telling yourself that you’re not worthy of, think about it. List it out loud or write it down (spell-casting works best when you spell the words out). Then list/write down all the fearful things you start telling yourself. “I don’t have time. I don’t have enough money. My work isn’t good enough. I’m too old. I’m not old enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m too busy. Someone else is already doing it. I’ll never be as successful and happy as my colleagues.” You fill in the rest here. I’m not in your head. You know what’s coming up for you. When you have it all written out that you feel has come out. I want you to write or say back to those insecurities and fears, “I hear you. I see you. I thank you for your input. I know that you’re scared and you’d like to keep us safe. I honor that about you. However, we’ve got this. I’ve got this. I can see this through and I’ll hold your hand as we see this through. together. You’ll see. You’ll be so glad we went for it.” Then begin reading each fearful statement you wrote and write the opposite underneath it. If you wrote, “I don’t have time.” you could write something along the lines of, “I can make time for this.” “There is always enough time, even if it’s just 5 minutes.” If you wrote something along the lines of, “I’m not talented enough.” you may write something like “I have always had the talent and passion for this. No one else can do this, but me, because no one will do it like me.” Continue down your list until it is complete, then take your list to the mirror. Look yourself in the eyes, state the goal you’d like to set and then repeat your affirming statements. Here’s a few if you need some inspiration, “I am good enough. I have what it takes. I have all of the resources I need even if they aren’t here in front of me right now. I am supported. I support my dreams. I am WORTHY of my dreams and goals. I am so proud of myself.” Do this every day and watch your actions, thoughts, habits, and beliefs align with these statements. The more intimate you become with these affirmations the more you’ll notice what is supporting these beliefs in your daily habits and environment and what isn’t in support of those beliefs. Then it’s up to you on how you will discern from there. What are you willing to do to allow yourself what you desire? What choices and sacrifices are you willing to make? It’s all up to you. Just remember… you were always worthy of it all in the first place.

Thank you for reading.

With love,

Kala