Cheers to the new beginning of another chance to make the absolute best of your year!

This year, 2017, has a powerful association with it.

In the Tarot the number 17 is known as “The Star”, and it’s wisdom to us is this:

Follow your own star. Act from the center of your true self… that’s where the keys to your creative power live. Go within and listen to your heart’s desires and the whispers of your soul to make your choices on how you will live, work, relate, and be this coming year. Then with that deep, strong, clear connection to your core, shine your light brightly to create the world you desire. Keep your light focused on what is yours to do, what truly matters & what is in Divine Time and it will amplify, magnify and be so much more powerful.

Undoubtedly this year there will be challenges, stresses, and doubts in the days to come. How you choose to react is where your power lies.

The mind is like a muscle that can be strengthened over time. It needs continual, positive reinforcement to gain strength so that on the days when things get overwhelmingly stressful, you won’t crumble and break down.

Affirmations are a great way to strengthen this muscle. When you have a self-defeating thought, rather than punishing yourself with more of these thoughts, you can replace it with an affirmation.

I like to think about it like doing a push-up. If you did a push-up that wasn’t quite good enough, you wouldn’t beat yourself up about it, you simply would do another, better push-up. Over time you get stronger.

If you want to make your affirmations even more powerful, bring emotion into your body as you say them. For example, as you say an affirmation to yourself, feel a flood of gratitude wash over your body, which cements the affirmation into your being and helps you to trust in it’s truth.

To begin (or enhance) an affirmation practice, here are 30 life-giving affirmations I often suggest to my clients.

1. “I am open to it being easy. Show me what to do next.”

2. “I am grateful that I am not where I used to be. It’s not how I started, but how I finish.”

3. “I allow financial prosperity to come into my life in surprising ways.”

4. “My life is not meant to be the product of another person’s expectations.”

5. “I am too busy watering my own grass to notice if your grass is greener.”

6. “I am patient as I trust that everything is coming together.”

7. “I never lower my standards for those who refuse to raise theirs.”

8. “Happiness is a mindset, not a destination. Happiness comes from enjoying life as it is, as I continue to go after my dreams.”

9. “I deserve to live a life that makes me smile more than I have suffered.”

10. “I will not get caught up in what could’ve or should’ve been. I will look at the power of possibility in the present moment.”

11. “I choose to focus on how blessed I am rather than how stressed I am. I understand that a positive attitude is the only thing that will change my reality.”

12. “I trust that what is best for me will find me regardless of the paths I take.”

13. “I am humble. I am teachable. There’s always room to have a new perspective, a new step, and a new beginning.”

14. “I can’t give to others what I don’t have. There’s nothing selfish about self-care.”

15. “I don’t allow my insecurities to define who I am. I walk and stand confidently as someone who knows I am worth it.”

16. “My life is not meant to be the product of someone else’s expectations. I define my own path.”

17. “Peace is better than being right. I don’t need to defend myself or attend every argument that I’m invited to.”

18. “I choose to surround myself with confident, supportive people who know there is enough going around for all of us to make it to the finish line.”

19. “What I pay attention to is what grows. I focus on what matters and let go of what doesn’t.”

20. “I am mindful as I pace myself through life. I know when to rest and recharge, and I know when to push and grow.”

21. “I understand that good things will come to me when I truly understand that I deserve good things.”

22. “Nothing is permanent. I no longer try to hold onto moments that never belonged to me in the first place, or control other people around me. I allow life to flow as it’s meant to be.”

23. “It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve failed. I only need to win once, so I’m going to keep trying until I do.”

24. “Happiness is in my mind, not on the events and outcomes around me. Beautiful things happen when I learn to free my mind from negative thinking.”

25. “I want to feel an overwhelming joy for no other reason than that I am alive to see another wonderful day.”

26. “I am enough. I do enough. I have enough. I can allow myself to relax and let go.”

27. “All I want is already mine. I only begin to lose it by believing I’ve never had it.”

28. “I cannot control everything that someone says or does to me. But I can choose not to be reduced by them.”

29. “I don’t waste my time and energy fighting against where I am now. I use my time and energy to bring me to where I wish to go.”

30. “I am whole. I am complete. There is nothing broken about me.”

Challenge Yourself to Follow Your Own Star This Year

What does it mean to follow your own star? To act from the center of your “true” self?

Too often we don’t trust our own instincts. We spin in circles as we ask everyone outside of ourselves for their opinion.

We have something incredibly powerful available to us. It is our own intuition, some call it a gut instinct, and when you learn to listen to it, she will never steer you wrong.

Try this for a month:

Practice listening to your intuition. Start with little things. If your friends want you to go out but she gently whispers, “stay in and go to bed early”…do it. If you’re watching Netflix and she nudges you, “Go to your desk and start writing”…do it. If you’ve been laying around all day and she says, “Go out for a walk”…do it.

The trick is to start small but be consistent. Learn to let your intuition guide you as you begin building trust in your inner wisdom.

This isn’t always easy, of course, but it’s worth working on.

You are worth it.

Your turn.

I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Which affirmation resonated with you today, and why?

XO

Alexis