New Year's Resolutions? None.

I may have mentioned this before, but I don't do New Year's Resolutions.  They're a continual reminder of what we DIDN'T do last year and more importantly they're a subliminal message to ourselves of who we are NOT.

I do affirmations.  Using the most powerful words in the universe - I AM - I write down who I am as a reminder of what drives me going forward.  Sometimes those affirmations may have changed from the last year, but usually they're the same, even if I didn't do everything I should've in the past year.  Despite our actions, who we are and who we choose to be shouldn't change unless we truly want to choose a different direction for our lives.

So, for example, here are my affirmations for 2014.  They may sound like bragging a bit, but remember what I stated at the top of this blog.  Just like optimism is the belief that you have the same CHANCE as everyone else, affirmations is the statement of fact, not relative to anyone else.  Arrogance is suggesting you're BETTER than someone else.  Affirmations just state what is.

1)  I'm an author of The Timepiece Chronicles series, the Under a Broken Sun series, and the teen-self help book Dealing with Dudes and Chicks.  (Notice I didn't say 'I'm a writer'.  That's a very vague and difficult term to quantify.  Authorship connotes ownership of something real.  So even if your novel, short story collection, or poems aren't finished, put yourself down as "The Author of...", and make your projects real.)

2)  I'm a devoted family man.  True and indisputable.  I love my kids to death and am totally devoted to them.  Love my wife and family more than anything else in the world.

3)  I'm a hard worker in my place of employment.  Also true, at least according to my latest review.

4)  I'm a health food nut who constantly tries to keep himself fit.

NOT TRUE!

None of my actions from last year suggest that.  This is an example of an affirmation that needs to be beefed up in the coming year.  But by affirming it, I'm putting it out there that this is who I am, and thus any actions to the contrary need to stop.  It's like a reverse resolution.  Instead of suggesting who I am not, and suggest actions to take to correct that, I'm suggesting who I AM, so that the CHOICES I make reflect that.  These are a lot harder.  Takes a LOT of reminders.

That's it - short, sweet, to the point, and these four guidelines drive me throughout the year.  What are some of your affirmations?