THE POWER OF THE STATEMENT “I AM” AND HOW IT'S AFFECTING MY LIFE
Every year around my birthday, I read a little book about my astrological sign (I am an Aries). The book takes maybe 20 minutes to read and it sits untouched the rest of the year. I love reading about what could be my strengths and weaknesses, about what types of career I could have, and even “my” personality traits. It’s never something I take to heart (I believe I shape my own destiny) but according to my book, there is one phrase that sums up every sign. The phrase of an Aries is “I am.”
The Power of I Am
A few days before my birthday, I stumbled on an Oprah video on Facebook. In the clip, Pastor Joel Osteen stated, “Whatever follows the words, ‘I am,’ will eventually find you.”
“I am.” Every year I have glazed over that phrase, always assuming it applied to my rather selfish, Arian nature. This year, however, after watching the Oprah clip, it struck a chord. I’d never thought about it before but it seems so rare to hear someone say a positive “I am” statement. Instead, we hear and say things like, “I am tired.” “I am frustrated.” “I am sick.” But we rarely say, “I am happy.” “I am loved.” “I am grateful.” And even if we say those things in our heads, they are never manifested aloud for fear of being too prideful or boastful. If we are to believe that whatever follows the words “I am” will find us, then we are all inviting a lot of pain, suffering, and dull things into our lives.
Suddenly the phrase I am, jumping out from my simple little astrology book, meant something more. It had power (not just for those born under the sign of Aries but for everyone). We are what we tell ourselves. We are what we believe. We become what follows the statement of I am.
In January, I wrote about Desire Mapping and the five surprising words that were and are changing my life. There I mentioned how each morning, I recite my five words, in the following way: “ I am organic. I am wild. I am joy. I am bright. I am peaceful.” I did (and do) this because these words embody how I want to feel… but I hadn’t even thought about the words before them. “I am.” I invited how I want to feel by saying “I am” first.
So what is the point of this post? Really to share that sometime around my birthday, I had an epiphany that the phrase “I am” is powerful and I want to invite more of it into my life. I want to say things like “I am happy,” “I am loved,” “I am grateful,” aloud. I want to continue to bring those things in my life. Maybe it’s a little bit like affirmations but with the work I do daily to be more positive and happier, combined with positive “I am” statements could only help. And I’m sharing this because I believe we all could use some more uplifting “I am” statements in our lives. I’d love to hear what “I am” statements you say or what good things you want to bring into your life. Share your story with me in the comments below. And don’t forget, you are capable of happiness abound.