31 Daily Affirmations for Professionals

Do you believe that you are what you think?  Do you talk to yourself or write things to improve yourself and think more positively?  We cannot rely entirely on thoughts or words but to constantly review these in the form of affirmations can create possibilities.  You begin to believe the words and put them into action.  We manifest our dreams and ambitions to make our words become reality.  

Affirmations are like exercise for our brains.

According to the article Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stress, a study revealed that self-affirmation improved problem-solving performance in chronically stressed participants.  Affirmations raise the level of feel-good hormones to relieve stress and improve problem-solving abilities.

I am determined to break the pattern of negative thought.  The constant self-criticism associated with an overachiever where nothing is good enough.  I have come up with 31 self-affirmations for the professional to repeat as often as necessary until the negative speech becomes a positive speech and in turn, positive actions.  I want to turn the words “I can’t” into “I can” and use the positive energy to my benefit.

The following are daily affirmations for 31 days of a month.  You can read them all at once or read one every day.  The important thing is repetitiveness.  You want them embedded to change your thoughts.  I use Post-it notes on my mirror.

1. I have energy and am highly motivated.
2. My body is healthy, and my mind is brilliant.
3. I am superior to negative thoughts and low actions.
4. I have been given endless talents and will utilize today.
5. I forgive those who have harmed me in my past.
6. I have compassion and love for my fellow human being.
7. I am guided in my every step toward what I must do.
8. I possess the qualities needed to be extremely successful.
9. My business is growing, expanding, and thriving.
10. Creative energy surges through me and leads me to new and brilliant ideas.
11. Happiness is a choice. I am happy.
12. My ability to conquer my challenges is finite; my potential to succeed is infinite.
13. I deserve to be paid well for my time, efforts, and ideas. 
14. I am courageous, confident, and I stand up for myself.
15. I set standards for myself and utilize firm boundaries.
16. My thoughts are filled with positivity and my life is prosperous.
17. Today, I abandon my old habits and take up new, more positive ones.
18. Many people look up to me and recognize my worth; I am admired.
19. I am blessed with an incredible family and wonderful friends.
20. I acknowledge my own self-worth; my confidence is soaring.
21. Everything that is happening now is happening for my ultimate good.
22. I am a powerhouse; I am indestructible.
23. Though these times are difficult, they are only a short phase of life.
24. My future is an ideal projection of what I dream of.
25. My dreams manifest into reality before my eyes.
26. I radiate beauty, charm, and grace.
27. Obstacles will be moved out of my path to experience greatness.
28. I wake up today with strength in my heart and clarity in my mind.
29. My fears of tomorrow are simply melting away.
30. I am at peace with all that has happened, is happening, and will happen.
31. My life is just beginning.

Repeating affirmations can turn thoughts into action.  Changing your thought process is the easiest and most efficient way to self-improvement.

Mentors - Who is holding me accountable?

Starting a company is hard, so you're going to need a lot of advice along the way.  If you are like me, you have constant ideas flowing about a new idea for a product or service.  You cannot stop thinking so what should you do to execute at least one of these ideas.  

The answer is finding good mentors.  

I have had some excellent mentors that have held my hand, called my bluff, and gave me pros and cons of ideas.  These people are my personal board of directors that know me and can tell me the holes in my ideas.  Is it a good idea or not?  Is the idea profitable?

I recently read Keith Ferrazzi’s Who’s Got Your Back.  This fantastic book offers the advice to build more supportive relationships.  Ferrazzi provides a nine-step approach to creating what he calls “lifeline relationships,” an inner circle of trusting support peers who serve as advisors, cheerleaders, and accountability watchdogs. These mentors respect you enough to tell you like it is.  Ferrazzi invites you to “let others help.”  Your professional development means more when you let others help.

I have one mentor in particular that I hold a phone call with every two weeks to see how my progress is going.  He holds me accountable for my goals and especially my progress on these objectives.  We discuss strategic tactics and whether these goals are still working or whether we need to change the direction to adjust to changing environmental issues.  I trust him, respect him and he holds me accountable and we work through ideas and execution of those ideas.  In turn, I discuss what is going on with him, and we have a win-win situation where both of us profit both economically and personally.

Without my mentors in my defense contracting business, DynaGrace Enterprises, I would never have known how to organize my accounting records in preparation for a DCAA audit.  My mentors helped me prepare several technical and cost proposals for competitive solicitations and also helped me market my business to government clients.

Because of mentors I have been able to achieve my goals and make them faster because of my personal board of directors.  I suggest you start building that board sooner rather than later and your success knows no limit.

Define Success

So a friend of mine gave me a book for my birthday. It is called "The Secret". She has told me many times that I am already living my dream. After I have made some lucrative business deals, purchased a big house, purchased beautiful furniture and made sure my kids are healthy and happy I have to wonder what is next on the agenda for me.

I try to help people realize the value of positive thinking. If you are constantly in the negative zone then you will be extremely unhappy. Another aspect of positive thinking is to make sure you are grateful for what you have. I think at any time a person can hit rock bottom.

I want people to realize there is so much out there if you believe in yourself and help other people to do the same. So how do I define success?

First I would break it down into several areas of success.

Professional Success

If I am successful professionally then I have not only climbed the career ladder and am well respected in my field but I have also helped others to do the same thing. By helping them improve professionally I am also improving myself professionally. I can inspire and motivate even the lowliest person to do better in their career.

Personal Success

I define personal success as having the ability to love myself. Putting my professional success aside and realizing what is important in life. Family and friends should remain at the top and their happiness and well being is very important to me. To live a long life I also think a person is successful by making their mind, body and soul healthy.

Human Success

I am successful in the human race if I have shown compassion and service to others. I am also successful if have brightened the most depressed person on earth with my smile. I want to make a positive influence in people's lives and make them glad that they met me. Making people laugh is the greatest thing on earth. Even if they are laughing at my corny jokes or reading the constant stream of humor email I send out.

Overall

I want to go to bed at night and sleep because I know I have achieved success that day. I want to die with no regrets. There is that old saying about sliding into the grave not saying "Geez I can't believe my life is over" but saying…"GAWD…what a ride!" I want to take risks and never have regrets.

The point is success is not about the money I have made or the places I have been. The best success in life is how well I respect myself. If I have done the things that I know are right then I will respect myself and others will respect me too.