While traveling, I thought I would share one of my favorite posts that you might not have read.

Sometimes we are so stuck in old thought patterns that it seems impossible to change them. This makes total sense when you think about the momentum that we have created around old thoughts. We might have been thinking those same old thoughts that keep us stuck for most of our lives.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t change our thoughts and make them more positive and supportive of where we want to be.

One tool that has been really effective for my personal transformation has been using affirmations.

There are lots of ways to use affirmations, but what’s worked best for me is to consciously choose those thoughts where I am stuck on the negative—thoughts like I don’t want to be overweight, I don’t want to eat healthy foods, I don’t want to exercise—and create an affirmation that is the new thought I want to think.

So “I don’t want to exercise” becomes “I feel good about the amount and intensity of exercise that I am getting.”

One of the keys to my getting the weight off and keeping it off was to create a list of affirmations around my diet and fitness goals and then read them every day. I also might read them if I felt myself wavering on getting my workout in or eating healthy foods. As I read them, I really tried to get into the feeling those new thoughts created.

It worked best for me to phrase the “new thought” in a way that I could believe and get behind. As a result, the affirmations actually shifted over time as I proved to myself what I could do, and as a result, my underlying beliefs shifted.

Even practicing these “new thoughts” for a few minutes every day can begin to slow the momentum of those old thought patterns. While it may seem a little simplistic, there is an amazing amount of power in shifting your thoughts little by little to what you truly do want.

Here are 16 of the affirmations that helped me on my own wellness journey—and that I still read on a consistent basis.

• I radiate wellness and well-being.
• I am getting leaner every day.
• I have learned enough that I am easily staying within 2-3 pounds of my optimal weight for the rest of my life. (This started out as I am learning enough)
• I feel good about what I choose to eat and how much I eat.
• I feel good about the amount and intensity of exercise that I am getting.
• I am fit, strong, and lean getting fitter, stronger, and leaner.
• I appreciate how good I look today.
• I allow myself to feel good, be healthy, and to experience optimal wellness.
• My metabolism is getting faster every day.
• All of my body systems are super charged and functioning properly.
• All the food that I eat benefits every cell in my body.
• I prefer to only eat until I am full because that feels good.
• I drink plenty of clean, good tasting water that I allow each cell in my body to fully utilize.
• I am making good decisions about what, when, and how much I am going to eat—and I follow through with those decisions.
• Even when I eat more than usual, I am confident that my body can utilize what I am eating and that I will return to a more controlled way of eating afterwards.
• I am conscious and appreciative of everything that I eat.

What are some new thoughts that you can create that would better support you on your own wellness journey? What’s the best way for you to practice those thoughts, even for a few minutes a day? Try it for a couple of weeks and let me know if you start to feel a mental shift.

Together we can do it!