Think, “I Am”

The words “I am” hold the power to both affirm and deject you. However, acknowledging your mistakes and holding yourself accountable correct those problematic behaviors and, thus, opens up more opportunities of becoming better. This phrase also helps in visualizing and affirming yourself in the present and opens up a magnificent future of possibility.

How we speak to and about ourselves are just as powerful, if not more, as how we do to others. Having a speech or thought pattern cultivates a particular image you have of yourself -- that’s how much power words hold. It also doesn’t help that we have a tendency to become too critical and mean to ourselves especially when we commit mistakes. When you lose an expensive watch, drop your wallet unknowingly, or make an unsuccessful business plan, your mind immediately chastises yourself with “I am so careless”, “I am stupid”, and the like. The problem with this is instead of learning from the mistake, you would first fall into a pit of self-deprecation and more often than not, you’ll end up staying there. However, as much as dangerous “I am” is, it is also just as liberating. Instead of immediately criticizing yourself through insults, you can say to yourself “I am more than my mistake” and “I am capable of becoming better than who I am now.” A simple switch of perspective creates such a significant difference that allows you to learn from the past and actually move forward. 

Of course, visualization also comes with worry -- about the possibility of failure, disappointments, rejections. When you imagine yourself living and achieving your goals, more often than not, you will think of ways on how everything can go wrong. But worries are also just visualizations -- something that you have created in your mind. To remedy this, you flip the switch again. Create a positive visualization. Affirm yourself by saying “I am.”