Change starts on the inside!
by Che Garman
One of the main reasons that permanent self-improvement is so difficult, is that people believe it is their behavior that needs changing. They try diets, take up meditation, write out their goals, start a fitness program... and in spite of all this, they fall back to old patterns. What really needs to be changed is their self-image... and the core beliefs that created it.
Your predominant thoughts and beliefs have created your self-image. You are that which you believe yourself to be. In your subconscious mind, there is a 'me' that is the sum of all your past experiences and thinking. And to make any lasting improvements in your life, that's the 'me' you need to change first.
You can try to change your habits and behaviors in order to improve your life, but it's only when you've changed your self-image that these new habits and behaviors will stick. Your self-image, your beliefs, must be in harmony with your thoughts.
James Van Fleet
This is why affirmations are so important. They work on changing beliefs at their core. Visualizing reinforces this by allowing you to combine a visual image of the new 'desired' you with these new beliefs. Repeated often enough, your subconscious mind will begin to replace the old, limiting beliefs with the empowering ones you are affirming. Without affirmation and visualization, the subconscious mind has no alternative but to revert back to the programmed self-image. That is all it knows.
All efforts of self-improvement need to be reinforced with positive affirmation and visualization. The self-image must be changed before you can realize permanent positive change in your life.
