On Affirmations

In the movie, Sunshine Cleaning, actress Amy Adams looks at the bright (and clean) side.

I've come across the concept of saying affirmations over the years, but haven't really consistently enacted the habit in my life. I also noticed how in movies, people who do them are portrayed in a cooky kind of way (e.g. Amy Adams in Sunshine Cleaning) and are in situations that don't necessarily immediately reflect the words they repeat to themselves.

However, every now and then, I write notes to myself and tack them on the wall, but they're usually goal and career-related, hardly ever, "I'm a rockstar, I'm gorgeous!" The most vivid that I do remember and one (or two) that had quite an impact in my work life was one I'd written back in 2002 and put up on the wall near my bed. It listed the following words:

editorial assistant
lifestyle and fitness assistant
beauty and fitness editor

In between the lines were arrows that mimicked a flow chart of sorts. This note reflected the trajectory I wanted my career to go. I had a goal of being an editor at 24—which was two or three years from the time I'd posted the note.

Another one on the wall read (from what I can remember):
"I am a good and talented makeup artist."

This resulted from an early experience as a freelance makeup artist when I'd encountered doubts about my talent; an incident wherein a starlet-then-model completely mocked the bright lime green eyeshadow I put on her. The green was actually the makeup theme given by the director of the fashion show and I was simply following directions, and picking up from a beauty forecast I'd read in Elle that time (that green was going to be the big thing that year/season in eyeshadow).

Anyway, suffice it to say that I've enjoyed a fun, engaging, and exciting beauty career on both counts as an editor and makeup artist. The makeup part has been on the backburner for quite some time now, but recent events and opportunities have again piqued my interest. So let's see how that goes.

The point of this post being, I wanted to share with you an affirmation I'd actually verbalized the other night, part of a string of messages that also included the "I'm fabulous" kind which I shall keep to myself:

"I will not put up with bad behavior."

It's so simple, straightforward, and encompassing. It's applicable to work, friendships, and relationships. And from there stems all the other facets of affirmations such as feeling confident, having clarity and conviction, and so forth.


Image courtesy of Indiewire.com.