0:00 A 2018 study from Carnegie Mellon showed just three sessions of self-affirmation training boosted problem-solving skills under stress.0:11 That’s the science, Admin.0:13 In episode 144, we talked about the framework for making affirmations resonate.0:20 Today, we're building the words themselves.0:23 The ones that feel true when everything else feels false.0:28 The ones for the mornings when "I am a radiant being of light" just makes you want to throw your alarm clock across the room.0:39 This is for those other mornings.0:42 So let’s start where you are.0:44 Not where you think you should be.0:47 Take a breath.0:48 Find a quiet space inside you, just for a moment.0:52 And let’s speak some truth.0:55 Repeat these, or just listen.0:57 Let the ones that fit sink in.1:00 If you feel tired today, if your bones ache with exhaustion before the day has even begun, the affirmation isn’t to pretend you’re energized.1:12 It’s this: I feel tired today.1:14 And that is a signal, not a failure.1:17 My body has been working hard, carrying me through everything.1:22 Today, I will honor its request for rest.1:26 I don't have to conquer the day.1:29 I only need to move through it with care.1:32 I can do one thing, and then rest.1:35 One thing.1:36 That is enough.1:37 If your mind is a storm of to-do lists, worries, and half-finished thoughts, the affirmation isn’t to force it silent.1:47 It’s this: There is a lot on my mind.1:50 It feels crowded and loud in here.1:53 This is my mind trying to keep me safe, trying to solve every problem at once.2:00 I see it.2:00 I thank it.2:01 And for the next ten minutes, I will give it ONE thing to hold.2:07 Just one.2:08 I am the container, not the contents.2:11 I can hold this storm without becoming it.2:14 Now let’s talk about the path.2:17 The feeling of being lost, or behind, or just… stuck.2:21 If you look at the day ahead and you’re not sure what to do next, if the path is fogged in and you feel paralyzed by the not-knowing, the affirmation isn’t to pretend you have a map.2:37 It’s this: I am not sure what to do next.2:40 And that is okay.2:42 Clarity is not a constant state I must live in.2:46 It is a place I can walk toward.2:48 I do not need to see the whole staircase.2:52 I only need to find the next step.2:55 I will ask myself: what is the smallest, kindest, most possible next step?3:01 I will take that one step.3:03 And I will trust that the one after it will appear.3:07 If you feel the sting of comparison, the deep ache of feeling like you’re falling behind everyone else… the affirmation isn’t to list your own accomplishments.3:21 It’s this: I feel like I’m behind.3:24 It feels like everyone else is moving faster, doing more.3:29 But I am not in a race against them.3:32 I am on my own journey, at my own pace.3:35 This path is mine alone.3:37 Today, I will not look to the left or to the right.3:41 I will look down at my own two feet, on my own ground.3:46 And I will take one step forward.3:49 My progress is not for their validation.3:52 It is for ME.3:53 Finally, the hardest one.3:55 The one about the past.3:57 If you’re haunted by a mistake, a choice you regret, a moment you wish you could take back… the affirmation isn’t to forget it.4:08 It’s this: I am thinking about a past mistake.4:12 It brings up feelings of shame or regret.4:15 I can acknowledge that.4:17 The person I was, who made that decision, was doing the absolute best they could with what they knew and who they were in that moment.4:29 I can have compassion for that version of me.4:33 I can forgive them.4:34 Because I am not that person anymore.4:37 Today, I have more information.4:40 Today, I am wiser.4:41 Today, I can make a new choice.4:44 My past does not define my present.4:47 The world will always ask you to be more.4:51 More productive, more certain, more perfect.4:54 It will demand you run faster, be better, do it all.4:59 Your real work, the truly difficult work, is to stand still for a moment, right in the middle of it all, and give yourself permission to be exactly what you are.5:12 Tired.5:13 Unsure.5:13 Imperfect.5:14 And still completely, undeniably worthy of this day.5:19 That isn't giving up.5:20 That is the beginning of everything.
