#thinkup

I have been using the ThinkUp App every morning for twenty one days now. As it has become a solid part of my routine, I am going to start sharing my affirmations with my friends.

How I do it -

1. I made a flip calendar using a spiral index card holder. On each page, I wrote the date, and added an affirmation- one which felt aligned to my goals.

2. Every morning, I wake up, and I add that day’s affirmation to the ThinkUp App.

3. I create an affirmation photo using WordSwag to use as the cover photo (see above). I select background photos that make me feel at peace, or ones which I feel align with my interests/goals.

4. I record my affirmation- this is important. At first, I felt my voice was off. My tone felt forced, like I was reading a children’s story. Now, I try to be patient with my recordings. Often, I’ll record all of them so that my volume and tone match how I am feeling on a good morning. This make take a few tries, but there’s no time wasted when I am speaking about myself in a positive way.

5. I meditate. This part is SO challenging for me. If I can’t completely zone into it (which happens often), I will write while my affirmations play in the background, or do something mildless, like brush my teeth and wash the dishes. I try to run the app for at least 20 minutes a morning. During those first few days, it can be awkward- as you’ll only have a few affirmations to play on repeate. After a while, when your affirmation library has built up, you’ll have a whole dialogue of positivity for all areas of your life.

Results -

I have been feeling much healthier; much more confident. It was awkward at first, and I felt like a fraud, but now I am beginning to believe the affirmations I have written for myself. I find that I am making better desisions, even if they are challenging. I have found that I have a level of respect for myself that I didn’t before.

If anyone has any interest in getting started with affirmations / meditation, I would love to be your guide. OR, if you just want to FEEL better, and maybe try something a little out of your comfort zone; something that I believe can truly help anyone exactly where they are right now.

As many people know, I struggle with PTSD and depression. Over the last few months I have been less active on Tumblr because my over all mental health was declining. I haven’t been writing as much. I haven’t been hosting fun challenges. I had all of these plans, but no energy to get them going. FanFiction became a chore, and I felt I was forcing myself to produce, instead of just enjoying my time creating.

Now, I have been taking my morning pages more seriously (if anyone is interested in understanding that, I can make a separate post, or shoot me a message). I have been taking weekly artist dates (again, ask and I shall explain), and I have really found a home in my meditation and affirmation practices. I am not back at my 100% level yet, but my solid 70% feels much better than the 30% I was operating at before.