This Is The Key to Creating Your Own Signature Affirmation
Updated: Oct. 18, 2018
Words are powerful! And affirmations have the potential to change your life.
I met Temitope Shobowale (a.k.a. Temi Marie), founder of Herday, a Toronto-based creative social hub for women, this past June during a journalling workshop for Nike Air Society. As Temi led our group through a soul searching session, it neared midway when she introduced the concept of affirmations (which are positive statements consciously recited out loud — preferably in front of a mirror — or, in writing). Warmly, she asked us: “What do you desire right now?” At the time, I found myself very unsure of what that question truly meant. When I finally got the opportunity to delve back and ask her the reasoning behind it, she responded: “The purpose of affirmations is to help set your intention of manifesting what you desire.”
Naturally curious about how to create my own signature affirmation, I wanted in on her secret: “Find a focus on what you’d like to base your intention,” she explains. “You must find the root of the problem, and only from there can you create the perfect affirmation tailored to your needs.” More importantly, she says it’s crucial that you silence your inner critic and retrain your inner voice to even begin to understand your truest desires. FYI: meditation can help. (Find out the powerful way meditation can alter your brain.)
If you’re having trouble finding inspiration, Temi advises you do some self-reflecting. “A nice walk and connecting with mother nature can also help,” she says. (Think: forest bathing!) And although creating a signature affirmation is the perfect tool for bringing inner peace to your life, there are five main types you should be aware of because each one will suit a different intention.
Releasing: “This type of affirmation is the most complex, which is why I feel it is best to start with,” she says. “It helps us let go of unwanted and unneeded stuff by cleansing our minds.”
Receiving and/or accepting: “These affirmations allow us to receive our blessings from the universe while examining our thoughts in order to neutralize the misuse of energy.”
Intending: “The purpose of these affirmations is to ground our higher purpose and enhance the conscious awareness of your intention about whatever it is you desire in life.”
Claiming: “These affirmations are to help us take the action we need to bring something into manifestation or to direct our energy towards creating the appropriate manifestation; they help bring into the physical experience those ideas that we fearfully hold in our mind and heart.”
Embodying: “Their purpose: to support our integration of what we’ve learned,” she says. “They allow the energy and meaning of the affirmations to merge with our consciousness.”
Wondering how often affirmations should be recited? According to Temi, every single day. “When I wake up I recite my signature affirmation at least five times in bed and five times in my bathroom vanity mirror — and, depending on how hectic my day has been, I’ll check in with myself at the end of the day and recite it five more times,” she says. Also note: writing out her signature affirmation over and over again, is never off the table. (Looking for a vacay that’ll help you relax, restore and rejuvenate? Here’s 10 reasons to book Turkey.)
Temi is confident in the transformational powers of affirmations; she’s witnessed firsthand how they can positively retrain one’s mind. At the end of the day, she believes everyone should incorporate them into their daily lives at some point. “We must constantly remind ourselves that the power is within us to receive our blessings and healthy desires,” she says.
