Welcome to T&P’s weekly newsletter! Become more intentional and productive in work and love. Subscribe to our weekly podcast here.
Hi friends 💖
Let’s chat about something I know we’ve all tried at one point or another—affirmations. You know, those little pep talks we give ourselves like “I am confident,” “I am brave,” or “I am worthy.”
I have to admit, I used to cringe at the thought of affirmations. I mean who talks to themselves repeating weird phrases??
But by repeating positive statements, we can actually change the way we think, feel and most importantly act. I know this to be true because of my own experience. I have used affirmations for both career & love purposes.
This week I’ll share how I used affirmations to cultivate self-love ❤️. Next week’s newsletter will be focused on affirmations for career growth.
The first time I began to take this “habit” seriously was a few years ago.
I didn’t know I was starting a habit but I was single and so, so frustrated (about being single). I had a bunch of sticky notes near my desk at home and one day began to write down positive phrases that came to mind. I placed the sticky notes with these scribbled phrases all over my studio apartment.
The sticky notes were half-affirmations, half-inspirational quotes. None were crazy woo-woo phrases and none were focused on calling in a boyfriend or love. They were all focused on me. On self-love.
I wasn’t even intentionally thinking about beginning an affirmation practice, yet every morning I recited phrases like “I am worthy of love” and “I love my body.” I read out loud whatever was written on the sticky note I fixated my attention on that morning.
What slowly began to happen was incredible. I began to truly feel self-love. For context, self-love did not come naturally to me for the first 25 years of my life. It’s difficult to describe what self-love initially felt like, but I began to notice shifts in my thoughts. I’d catch myself thinking negative thoughts about my body and would immediately shift the thoughts to something useful and loving.
Feeling and thinking self-loving thoughts empowered me to become more confident and more loving towards myself. I took up space. I began to own who I am. I began to act like my true authentic self.
The feeling influenced the thought. The thought influenced the behavior.
Affirmations = Feel —> Think —> Behave
One thing led to another and today, I can’t imagine how the phrases “I am worthy of love” and “I love my body” could have ever felt so foreign to me.
But that’s the power of affirmations. It’s weird at first, but then you start to feel the effects and you’re hooked.
Stay tuned for part two coming out next week.
Become More Productive and Intentional
2 Tips for Work:
Batch tasks: Ever feel like you’re constantly jumping between a million little tasks and not really getting anything done? Try task batching. Group similar tasks together and knock them out in one focused session rather than spreading them out throughout the day. Batch your emails, handle admin work in one go, or block off time for deep work.
Declutter your workspace: Take a few minutes each day to clean up your desk before you sit down. Having a clean, organized space will help inspire you to get work done.
2 Tips for Love:
Start an affirmation practice: Cultivate self-love through affirmations. When you have a solid foundation of self-love, you’re less likely to settle for relationships that don’t serve you. You attract the energy you radiate, so work on becoming the best version of yourself, and you'll naturally draw in someone who supports and values you for who you are.
Understand your attachment style: But don’t use it as an excuse for your negative behavior. Become aware of your patterns. Change them if they’re negatively impacting your relationship.
This Week’s Podcast Episode
Roya Shariat is a foodie, content creator, cookbook author, newsletter writer and social impact lead at Glossier.
In her twenties, she had two dreams. She accomplished both. Listen to this week’s episode to learn how you can do the same.
And watch a 2-min recap below:
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What I’m Reading | Listening | Recommending
Reading: The quote below from the Farnam Street newsletter.
“So much can be accomplished in one focused hour, especially when that hour is part of a routine, a sacred rhythm that becomes part of your daily life.” — Dani Shapiro
Listening: If you have a podcast, I recommend bingeing all the episodes of Grow the Show, a podcast to help fellow podcasters. I listen to an episode every other day.
Recommending: Just finished Happy Place by Emily Henry. This NYT article about her was interesting, “Emily Henry on Writing Best-Sellers Without Tours and TikTok.” My favorite part about Emily is that she wrote her first novel as a side hustle. In the mornings. Before her corporate job. She’s since written five best-selling novels.
Question for the Group Chat
What was a dream you had as a little kid?
Learn More From Theory & Practice
Our twenties are for learning. And boy, did I learn in my early twenties. Mostly about booze. This book changed my relationship with alcohol. Full stop. Watch below to learn more.
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