affirmations

I've been thinking about changing the way I think and talk to myself for some time.

Way back when I was in cognitive therapy for depression (about 13 years ago), my therapist challenged me to stop and evaluate my negative thoughts and find a place to frame them in a more positive light. Let's just say I'm still working on that one.

My focus word for the year is "free". As part of that focus, I want to free myself from my negative thoughts, which are primarily directed towards myself.

Crystalyn sent me the book As A Man Thinketh. It's a slim little gem of a volume, and I meant to post about it as soon as I finished it, but instead I've just been ruminating on it. Here a just a few of the lines that stood out to me:

Man holds the the key to every situation, and contains within himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he wills.

The body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind, whether they be deliberately chosen or automatically expressed.

Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts. When a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food.

Thought is the font of action, life, and manifestation; make the fountain pure, and all will be pure.

Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force: he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers.

Then came Jill's challenge to stop the negative self-talk. I accepted the challenge, but it's been just that -- a challenge.

Then Elder Holland's talk in Conference yesterday.

For those of you that haven't heard it, he used James 3 as his text. (It refers to the tongue as being a small part of our body that nonetheless wields great power.)

I was particularly interested in his comments on the way we talk to ourselves -- and I'll have to defer to you note-takers out there for more detail.

So. It seems clear that I need to change my thoughts. My question now is, HOW?

I signed up for an online 10-week weight loss challenge, where I received an email every day with workout and diet tips, encouragement, and a daily affirmation. I think affirmations are a good idea, a way to re-train the brain, if you will. The problem is, my mind rebels against them. Telling myself I am lean, fit and strong just sounds preposterous! I immediately start thinking of all the reasons that statement is untrue.

Obviously, it's going to take a lot of effort to undo years of negative self-talk. It's become quite an ingrained habit. But could it really work to tell myself these affirmations, even if they seem ridiculous at first? Anyone got any suggestions?