Thursday, July 8, 2010

I Love My...

What You See Is What You Get

One of the things that I love about Mary Kay Inc. is the emphasis to our sales force on personal growth. Mary Kay Ash was so far ahead of her time, and one thing she taught from the very beginning was, "What we think about, we bring about". In an age of self-help sections at the bookstore & motivational speakers, this type of thinking could be thought by some to be cliche. And I have to admit that I was a skeptic, at least in the affirmations department.

If you aren't familiar with affirmations, they are positive statements you tell yourself in an effort to reprogram your mind from the negative & manifest your dreams into reality. The average person is naturally negative in their thinking, and it truly takes a concentrated effort to remove all the negative thoughts that run through our minds every day. It is no coincidence that depression is one of the fastest growing "diseases" in society today. Have you watched the news lately? Read the paper? How many of the stories are positive?

About three months ago I decided that I needed to make a change in my life & that I needed to start with my thinking. I was frustrated with my business & realized that even though overall to outsiders I was a very positive person, in my head I was constantly fighting with self doubt. I would tell people outwardly that I wanted to accomplish certain things, and immediately in my head think of all the reasons why they wouldn't happen. I'm embarrassed to say that even though I had taught this concept to my Mary Kay consultants for years, I had never truly practiced daily affirmations in my own business. I decided that I had nothing to lose by trying it out. So I compiled my list of positive statements, and really figured out what it is that I want for my future....I put them on my mirror, on my desk, recorded them on my ipod so I could listen to them anytime, and even made a movie with pictures of the things I was saying. It became part of my routine!

Now, three months later I can honestly say I see them working! I won't get into specifics, but I will say that I have seen huge changes in my personal & professional life. I still struggle with fighting those negative thoughts, and I am sure I always will, but it so easy now to go straight to my list and start reading or turn on my ipod. It is a process and something that takes time! And even though I am not where I want to be just yet, I AM A BELIEVER!

Of course, starting on this journey has opened my eyes even more to the concept of positive thinking. And I have noticed more & more when successful people talk about their journey, even if they don't specifically say that they used "affirmations", they do talk about their thinking. I was watching the 2010 Tony Awards last month, and was truly touched by one of the winner's speeches. Katie Finneran won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Promises, Promises. I found myself in tears at the end of her speech, because I knew exactly what she was thinking. It is a true example that "What you think about, you bring about!":