So much of what we say about ourselves is negative. Affirmations give us the opportunity to choose words that help create or eliminate something in our lives, such as creating success or confidence or healthy relationships, and eliminating low self-esteem, destructive behaviors and even pain.

Affirmations help us retrain our thinking and speaking into positive patterns so we can truly transform our lives. We can get more of what we want and less of what we don’t.

But be careful because everything we say is an affirmation. Every thought, every sentence is just confirming what we want in life.

So, if you say “I’m so happy and grateful now that I lost 20 pounds,” one minute, then say “this won’t work” the next minute, which one do you think will win out? The second one!

Negative thought patterns are so deeply ingrained in all of us, and it’s really hard to break them. Practicing positive affirmations is one way to break that cycle.

On a recent trip to Miami, I sat at Oeno Wine Bar in the United Terminal of Newark Airport reflecting on the chain of events that led me to that very spot. I was traveling to Miami for the first in-person weekend of my professional coach training through University of Miami. I picked up a copy of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates at Hudson News on the first leg of my flight, and as I sat reading and sipping my Chardonnay, I came across a passage that struck me: “The choices we make about the lives we live determine the kinds of legacies we leave.”