As you can imagine, helping people navigate life change lends itself to lots of curious pondering, one being the growing popularity of personal affirmations and inspiring quotes. For example, did you know that a Google search for personal affirmations and inspirational quotes reveals 2.5 and 1.6 million search results respectively?
On an intriguing note, I’m now receiving affirmations or ah moment nuggets from clients, from coast-to-coast, on a weekly basis. What do these heart-centred pearls of wisdom have in common? From my experience, they are high quality, focused, genuine and express the sender’s life point so accurately and sincerely, that it almost it takes my breath away!
Here are three examples. The first is from a client considering a career change, the second is from a world-class worrier, and the third is from a busy professional, scurrying from one task to another:
- “A ship in harbour is safe—but that is not what ships are built for”- John Shedd
- “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened” – Montaigne
- “Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are important are not urgent” – Dwight Eisenhower
Personal affirmations and inspiring quotes work for many people because they are concise, poignant encapsulations of positive energy expressed in ideas, hopes, and dreams. Upon reflection, I noticed that the personal affirmations and inspiring quotes that I was attracted to also captured my life challenge exactly – and more importantly, served to bolster my resolve to make positive change in my life.
Here are three of my favourites:
- “Forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair” – Kahlil Gabran
- “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” – Oscar Wilde
- “A little rebellion now and then, is a good thing” – Thomas Jefferson (Hmm, I still like this one!).
Best of all, personal affirmations and inspiring quotes can be powerful catalysts to help you move forward along the happy trail. As mentioned earlier, these nuggets of wisdom, experience and perspective are plentiful, varied and readily available via a simple Google search. Interested in exploring further?
Here are four tips, for your consideration:
1. Look – Be on the lookout for personal affirmations and inspiring quotes that capture your attention. Then ask: “Why am I so attracted to this personal affirmation or inspiring quote, and what wisdom does this have to offer me?”
2. Collect – Start a signature collection. A laptop is a great place to store personal affirmations and inspiring quotes. Plus, for the creative types, you can always make up your own.
3. Track – The quotes and affirmations that attract you today may or may not attract you next year. This is because you may have other challenges and opportunities on your plate. This being so, tracking your year-to-year affirmation and quote appeal is an excellent way to honor where you’ve been, how you’ve grown, and to celebrate what you’ve learned along the happy trail.
4. Share – People love to share personal affirmations and inspiring quotes. At first, I suspected that this tendency was simply an act of kindness and generosity. After observing many, many people (including myself), I now know that the sharing stage is an important part of a heart-centred inner growth process akin to putting a stake in the ground and saying: “Yes, I have walked this talk … and if I can do it, you can do it too.”