Saturday, March 8, 2008

superwoman has checked out

Affirmations...

When I hear the word affirmations my mind immediately goes back to the Saturday Night Live episodes with Jack Handey, and I can't help but smile and hear, "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And, gosh darn it, people like me."

However, I was reminded of the helpfulness of affirmations this past week when one of my students said her homework was to write down 50 affirmations a day. This wasn't her school homework but homework that was assigned when she was released from the trauma unit of a hospital. This was her homework to try to begin re-programming her brain. With awareness, we might notice there are times when the mind begins reciting negative talk about ourselves. It is important we notice this negative self-talk, or we just might start believing it. Replacing the negative self-talk with affirmations really does work.

As our conversation went on, I proceeded to tell this student how proud I was of her, how I don't know how she had managed to take challenging courses and make good grades while trying to deal with some very difficult emotional and mental challenges. I said, "You're like a superwoman." She told me that that was one of her affirmations. "What is?" I asked thinking she was going to respond by saying, "I am superwoman." Instead, she replied, "Superwoman no longer resides here." Interesting twist on an affirmation, huh? I think I just might use that one myself.


Namaste'


Yogagal

1 comment:

Alicia said...

That is pretty powerful!! I might have to use that one.