Growing up I loved watching Saturday Night Live. There were plenty of regular sketches that covered almost every topic imaginable, including religion (The Church Lady saying “Hmmmm, isn’t that special?”), exercise (Hans and Franz exclaiming “We’re gonna pump, you up!”) and music (Wayne’s World praising musicians and exclaiming, “We’re not worthy!”), among others.

However, a particular sketch that struck a chord for me even as a child was “Daily Affirmations With Stuart Smalley.” Stuart was a sensitive and insecure man and would look at his reflection in the mirror and repeat positive affirmations to himself such as:

You’re Good Enough,
You’re Smart Enough,
and Doggone It, People Like You.

The sketch essentially took aim at people in the positive psychology movement who claimed that they could feel and be better just by saying so. Unfortunately, affirmations have taken heat by many people who say exactly that….and in some instances, these criticisms could be right.

Hold on a minute! Am I not writing an article defending the principles of gratitude and affirmations? How could I say such a thing?

The truth is, many people do not believe their affirmations….much like Stuart Smalley, staring meekly in the mirror, they actually believe the worst about themselves and use affirmations as an attempt to “fool” the Universe. Problem is, you CAN’T fool the Universe.

As many teachers and gurus through the ages have taught, there is a vibration around us and within us that radiates the truth. This vibration picks up our deepest feelings and thoughts. Mere verbal play will not change it. It could even make it worse.

So, what to do?

The first step to developing affirmations that will actually work is, GRATITUDE.

Let’s take a step back and explore this before we get back to effective affirmation creation.

Whether we realize it or not, each day there are aspects of our lives we can be grateful for. In order to truly feel grateful in a sincere and heartfelt way, it’s often advisable to start simple. For example, I love my morning coffee. Really love it, as in I get excited to get out of bed and experience that first blissful sip. In fact, there may be days when that’s the only thing I can truly get excited about! If I know I’m in for some challenging experiences that day, that may frighten me or cause anxiety then it’s important to focus on something good, even if it is just a good cup of Joe.

So I focus on this small aspect of my day. I am thankful for it, and savour the moments of this morning ritual that can bring a smile to my face. If you really try I’m sure there’s an example or two you can find in your life as well. Perhaps you are a herbal tea drinker? A morning meditator who enjoys self hypnosis? A workout junkie who thrives on the morning run? Maybe you love brushing your teeth! There is no judgment here, this is about YOU and your happiness. Spend a minute or two thinking about the little things that make a big difference to your day.

Then, feel that gratitude. Really focus on it, feel it in your being and let it light you up. Concentrate on that vibration and know that you have access to this feeling whenever you choose to connect with it.

That’s it. You’ve taken the first step towards authentic gratitude building. Throughout the day, take notice of other experiences, no matter how trivial they may seem. Remember, this is YOUR life and YOUR experiment. Have fun playing with these concepts and even make a list if you feel so inclined. I’ve been keeping a gratitude list since 2007 and I periodically go back to it and add new items, as well as review moments of gratitude from past years. It’s a powerful exercise that can remind me of glorious moments that otherwise may have been forgotten (the time a butterfly landed on my foot in Thailand in 2014 was pretty special).

There’s magic in authentic gratitude. The more you do it, the more it comes naturally and the more you’ll learn to be grateful for! In this whirlwind world we live in, it’s important to stop and smell the roses (literally). This simple exercise can radically change your life in many ways, both organic and natural, as you feel your way into a genuine sense of gratitude.

So now you’ve come to the next step: creating effective and meaningful affirmations. This is where you take the good feelings that you’ve cultivated and actually use them to activate even more positive feelings in your energy field.

Similar to gratitude, you can start simply and easy. Let’s go back to the coffee example. While savouring each sip I could say to myself things such as:

I’m blessed to have organic, rich coffee beans every day.
This is a good start to the day, how lucky am I!?
Wow, I’m getting ready to take on this day and feel full of energy!

Or even just a satisfied… Mmmmmmmmm

Enjoying a pleasing sensation is an affirmation itself! An affirmation does NOT have to be reciting boring platitudes that we don’t really believe in anyway. In fact, as I stated earlier, this could work against you instead of for you.

Once you start creating affirmations for yourself that you enjoy and believe, keep going! Make it a natural part of your being to verbalize your genuine gratitude and sensations as you experience the day. Once you truly get into this habit, you can test going a bit further towards bigger dreams, but go slowly. You must stay true to yourself and be honest about what feels real and right.

Gratitude plays an immense role in cultivating a wealthy mindset. Chances are that since you are reading this you probably live a relatively good life compared to the average citizen of the world. You have leisure time to explore concepts of spirituality and personal development. You have time to think about becoming better, being better, and loving yourself better.

This is something to be incredibly grateful for!

How many other things could you take notice of in your daily life that would be considered “luxurious” to others? Do you go to a fitness center? Yoga studio? Do you shop at exclusive shops with organic products? Do you own a car? Do you take vacations? Take a minute or two to really think about this.

Once we identify these factors and build these positive feelings they tend to grow and flourish. Baby steps are good and in fact, encouraged, so you can expand your belief system about your self worth in a gradual fashion.

Affirmation creation around wealth building can be an exciting adventure once we cover these first steps, because now we’re in a powerful position to believe in ourselves and set ourselves up for success! Small statements such as “I deserve this”, “It’s just a matter of time”, “It’s always getting better”, and “Time is on my side” are just a few examples of the kind of affirmations that can be a huge boost to wealth building from the inside out. We come to understand that we must enjoy the journey along the way and the process can take as long or as short as it needs. We take it in stride and love ourselves to the best of our abilities each step of the way.

Meditation and self hypnosis can help to etch these ideas even further into the psyche and ingrain them into our thoughts. But more on that another day. For now, get started being grateful!!!