Everything After “I am...” Creates

In her work with Lightyear Leadership, author and coach Susanne Conrad shares,

“What you say about yourself has as much, if not more, power as what someone else says about you. By filling yourself moment-to-moment with positive forward-thinking affirmations, you create a powerful, forward-thinking person in yourself.

Remember that your body is intuitive, and be thoughtful about what you say about it. It hears you when you call it chubby one day, or puffy-eyed the next; it hears when you say it’s lazy or incompetent or that it eats too much, too little, too quickly.

Your challenge is to hear yourself when you make these judgements, the moment the words “I am” come out of your mouth, really think about what you say next. Those words could change everything.

Likewise, as you listen to others notice what they say after “I am,” you may discover their deepest insecurities or greatest hope in those subtle phrases.”

Try it out yourself:

- Take a moment to think of 5-10 “I am…” statements that come to mind.

- Notice which were positive/empowering and which were negative/unhelpful.

- Check in with your body sensations on each statement. How did this “I am…” statement change how you feel or change your energy?

- For each negative statement, flip the narrative towards positive and self-affirming words.

- Notice the change in energy, body sensations, thoughts, visions, etc. Likely, you’ll experience a big shift.

- Over the next few days, pay attention to your automatic “I am…” thoughts and expressions, and notice how they make you feel. When a negative “I am…” comes up, pause and reframe.

The freedom of knowing we can CHANGE OUR THOUGHTS is one of our most powerful tools.