Stuart Smalley Had It Right!

Do you all remember those SNL skits where Stuart Smalley said, "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Doggone It, People Like Me"??? I sure do. It was one of my favorite skits. Stuart would talk through his day and the negative things he had to deal with and at the end of the skit...he would say that mantra to himself over and over again.

Well...jokes aside, Positive Affirmation is something that is often used in behavior modification and self esteem therapy. Affirmation basically is saying something over and over again in your head. There can be negative or positive affirmations. Imagine if you said to yourself every single morning, "I am beautiful" for a month. Do you think you would feel more beautiful at the end of the month? Probably. Now on the flip side..if you said, "I am ugly" to yourself every morning, how beautiful do you think you would feel at the end of the 30 days??? Probably not so much.

Unfortunately, we often listen to those negative voices and thoughts much more than we listen to the positive....unless we make a constructive effort to listen to the good. This exchange from Pretty Woman just proves my point:

Vivian: People put you down enough, you start to believe it.
Edward Lewis: I think you are a very bright, very special woman.
Vivian: The bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?

You know what...let's make a commitment to start telling ourselves positive things...to start listening to the good and start challenging the bad. I can call myself fat every single day...or I can call myself smart and beautiful and caring. I truly believe that if we do that every single day...over time the bad stuff won't be easier to believe. You with me???