Monday, May 28, 2018

Using #Affirmations for #Health and #Writing by Joanne Guidoccio


MUSE MONDAY


I'm so pleased to welcome Joanne Guidoccio back to Discover Yourself. What a great positive message for all of us. We'd love some input from you on this great topic.

Using Affirmations to Achieve Health and Writing Goals

During my cancer journey, I read Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life, and developed an interest in affirmations. 

What is an affirmation?

An affirmation states an outcome or truth you wish to impress upon your mind. While the affirmation doesn’t actually make things happen, it can raise your vibration so that you are more receptive to the desired outcome.

At first wary, I slowly warmed up to the topic and adopted several of Louise’s suggestions:

Every cell of my body radiates health.
I relax and let my body heal itself.
I lovingly do everything I can to assist my body in maintaining physical health.

I also liked using the following mantra-like affirmation from French psychologist Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie:

Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.

Having experienced success with these health-based affirmations, I decided to use this technique to help achieve my writing goals. And I wanted to create my own personal affirmations rather than piggy-backing on someone else’s success. 

Here are the affirmations I’ve used during the past ten years of my writing journey:

 My words flow easily.
 Each day, I write with confidence and enthusiasm.
 I submit a manuscript that is well received by a publishing house.
 Joyful and creative, I delight in inspiring and motivating others with my written work.

Tips for Writing and Using Affirmations

1.      Use the first person and the present tense. 

2.      Keep the affirmations brief and limited. Focus on one or two until you’ve incorporated them into your psyche.

3.      Don’t sabotage yourself with an unrealistic goal. For example, “My book achieves best-seller status” is too much of a jump for an unpublished writer who is struggling with the first draft of her book. 

4.      Practice your affirmations each day. You can say them first thing in the morning, while looking in the mirror, or while exercising. 
5.      Write down your affirmations. You can stick them on your mirror or bulletin board, post them on your computer, or carry them in your purse or wallet.

Any affirmations out there? Please share.
Blurb
While not usually a big deal, one overlooked email would haunt teacher Gilda Greco. Had she read it, former student Sarah McHenry might still be alive.

Suspecting foul play, Constable Leo Mulligan plays on Gilda’s guilt and persuades her to participate in a séance facilitated by one of Canada’s best-known psychics. Six former students also agree to participate. At first cooperative and willing, their camaraderie is short-lived as old grudges and rivalries emerge. The séance is a bust.

Determined to solve Sarah’s murder, Gilda launches her own investigation and uncovers shocking revelations that could put several lives—including her own—in danger. Can Gilda and the psychic solve this case before the killer strikes again?

Excerpt

One missed email. While I couldn’t be one hundred percent certain it was the only one I had ever overlooked, I knew this omission would haunt me. And matters weren’t helped when the cantankerous constable on the telephone said, “If you had read that email, Sarah McHenry might still be alive.”

Leaning back in my recliner, I closed my eyes and tried to recall Sarah’s face. But all I could see were curtains of blond hair or, more precisely, three sets of curtains of blond hair. The Barbies—Mean Barbie, Mellow Barbie, Moody Barbie—came to mind. How I had detested those nicknames and some of the more cruel ones the students tossed about like puffs of cotton candy, oblivious to the pain and potential scarring that could linger for decades and even lifetimes. I spent the first two weeks of my teaching stint calling out the children whenever they used those nicknames and giving detentions to anyone who persisted.

Moody Barbie. That had been Sarah’s moniker. Prone to tears and bouts of the silent treatment, she often retreated into her own world. A budding artist, she would take out her sketch pad and draw whenever she finished her work or needed to separate herself from the others. Had she decided life was much too difficult and retreated even farther? That had been my first thought when Constable Mulligan read the infamous email: We need your help. But the use of the first person, plural pronoun conjured up another meaning, one even more sinister.

Who was in danger? Family members? The Barbies? Other classmates? Why reach out to me after over two decades of silence? And how did she find my workplace email address? All these questions swirled through my mind, and I longed to ask for details. But I didn’t want to anger the grief-stricken constable who was bemoaning the senseless way Sarah had died, alone and exposed to the cool autumn evening. A shocking occurrence, but even more so in Parry Sound.
Giveaway
Click on the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Buy Links

Amazon (Canada): https://is.gd/vR5Sxn
Amazon (United States): https://is.gd/lU0qw7
Barnes & Noble: https://is.gd/ckNfhx
The Wild Rose Press: https://is.gd/nQ2ZjT
Bio
In 2008, Joanne Guidoccio took advantage of early retirement and decided to launch a second career that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.

Where to find Joanne Guidoccio



13 comments:

  1. Great excerpt and blog post! I know the Coué quote from The Pink Panther Strikes Again - I had no idea it was anything more official. LOL!

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    1. Thanks Kerry! I had also heard the Coué quote many times before I learned of its origins.

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  2. This is a great post, Joanne. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You're very welcome, Brenda. I like visiting this blog. :)

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  3. I really enjoyed this post Joanne! I think affirmations are another great way of focusing on the positive.

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    1. Definitely! What we focus upon expands. Good to see you here, Linda :)

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  4. Great post, and it's so true about setting realistic goals.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, Amber! When "The Secret" first came out, many people believed that all you had to do was visualize millions of dollars, best-selling lists, soulmates, and other goals. Starting small works much better.

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  5. I'm glad your affirmations work for you, Joanne. Being confined to a wheelchair, I have to set my health goals a little lower. I focus on the things I can still do. Great excerpt!

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    1. Excellent attitude, Ilona! Focusing on what can be realistically accomplished is much better than setting "pie in the sky" goals. Best of luck to you.

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