How I Improved My Mental Playlist: Soundtracks Part 2 - Lisa E Betz

Inspired by reading Jon Acuff’s book, Soundtracks, I decided to try my own soundtrack experiment. The concept of the book is to replace unhelpful soundtracks (repeated self-talk statements) with better soundtracks. In effect, improving my mental playlist of self-talk that’s playing in the background of your mind.

As part of the process, Acuff advised readers to create a statement of affirmation and then read that statement out loud every morning and evening while looking at yourself in the mirror. Acuff named his statement his New Anthem. (See his New Anthem here.) He based the idea on an affirmation statement from the famous positivity guru, Zig Ziglar.

Why did I try this?

As I admitted in the previous soundtracks post, repeating the same statement every morning is not natural for me. It seemed like some pie-in-the-sky thinking, so why bother?

But then I realized the scriptures are filled with reminders to meditate on God’s truth day and night. If the affirmations I am speaking are based in truth, then saying it out loud consistently is following a scriptural example.

Also, I figured, if doing this simple exercise helps me, why not? What’s 30 seconds once a day?

At first I had planned on reading through a version of this twice a day, but the end of the day reading quickly fizzled, so I decided to focus on establishing my start of the day habit.

Here’s my version of a positive mental playlist.

My Start Your Day with a Winning Mindset Affirmation.

I, Lisa Betz, am a child of God. I am wonderfully made, unconditionally loved, and created to accomplish good works for God. Even when I make a mess of things, I am seen, loved, and accepted by God.

I am free to choose my thoughts. I can renew my mind, replacing old, stinking thinking thoughts with new better, more helpful thoughts. Each day I choose to become more of

I am excited for what God has in store for me today. I am intelligent, competent, creative, disciplined, persistent, and able to grow, learn, and change.

Here are ten truths I choose to believe about the True Lisa whom God created me to be.:

1. I have a worthwhile message to share with the world.
2. I am a leader, I am called to ministry, and I have a tribe who needs what I can give.
3. With God’s help, I can do more than I can imagine. I do not need to fear being overwhelmed because God is sufficient.
4. I am a unique child of God with a passion to change the world for good in my own quirky, unconventional way.
5. Feeling uncomfortable means I’m stretching beyond my comfort zone into new and better things. Resistance wants me to stay comfortable.
6. You sow what you reap. When I am generous, I will reap generosity. When I am kind, I will reap kindness.
7. Everything is figureoutable.
8. Doing something (even if it’s not the perfect thing) is better than doing nothing. I will 5-4-3-2-1-GO.
9. Mistakes and failures are a normal part of learning. They are my stepping stones to success.
10. Today I will speak healing words to myself and others.

I’m ready for a day of new adventures and untold opportunities. I choose to set the table for good things to happen, and I bring generosity, humor, integrity, and compassion on my journey. I can do all things through God, who is my source, my strength, my guide, my shepherd, and my Lord.

End the day by looking back and looking forward

This was part of my grand plan, but as I mentioned earlier, things didn’t go tp plan. I tried doing this just before going to bed but I found it got me thinking too much about my to-do list. So I thought I would try it earlier in the evening, but there was always too much else going on and I forgot. After a few days I gave up on this part. I may try it again later.

I’m including it here in case you think this is a great practice to adopt for your own use.

As an alternative to reciting the whole affirmation statement at the end of the day, I adapted an old Christian practice called the Daily Examen into an end-of-the-day reflection exercise.  

My End of the Day Reflection

I, Lisa Betz, am a child of God. I am wonderfully made, unconditionally loved, and created to accomplish good works for God. Even when I make a mess of things, I am seen, loved, and accepted by God.

I am free to choose my thoughts. I can renew my mind, replacing old thoughts with better, more helpful thoughts. Today I made some mistakes but I also accomplished worthwhile things. Tomorrow I will do more of what works and less of what hinders as I continue my journey.  

 Three positive things that happened today include:

• ____
• ____
• ____

One area where things didn’t go so well was _________.  

(State this simply, without judgement. It could be a mistake you made, a not-totally-successful attempt at a task, or something unfortunate that happened to you through no fault of your own. Acknowledge any feelings involved and whatever your first reaction was, and don’t beat yourself up for them.)

One way I can do better tomorrow is by remembering _______.

(Choose a positive soundtrack /affirmation /Bible verse that will help you have a better attitude or will motivate you to try again the next time.)

The Results

At first it felt foolish to stand in front of the mirror and repeat a few silly paragraphs each morning. It seemed fake and pointless (but harmless).

I was working with this over the Christmas holidays, when my schedule was not running as normal, so there were quite a few days when I skipped it, or forgot about it. Even so, I managed to remember more than 50% of the time.

I’m afraid I don’t have an amazing transformation story to report. But I can report that several of the soundtracks on my new playlist are beginning to pop up throughout my day. And as I’ve been working though a hectic time preparing for my next book release, I have definitely had a more positive attitude about work and my ability to succeed in these new things that I need to do.

So I will continue this practice because I believe it is doing some good, and I am hopeful that it is actually doing more inside me than I currently realize.

Now it’s your turn

Five keys to creating your own affirmation statement

• Make it personal. Include your name at least once. Use I instead of we or you.
• Include positive soundtracks (beliefs) that counter your loudest unhelpful soundtracks.
• It’s not about “fake it ‘til you make it“ or claiming things that aren’t true. It’s about positive qualities and better beliefs that you aspire to attain. You are reminding yourself of the person you want to be, even if you’re not there yet.
• Choose wording that affirms your ability to grow without feeling fake. For example, if you’re not physically fit but you wish to become fit, don’t say “I am fit.” Instead say something like, “I am becoming more fit every day.”
• Stand on the truths of scripture about God’s love and your worth, even if you don’t or can’t believe them right now. Repeating these truths will help you grow toward faith. This isn’t faking it, it’s holding fast to truth even when it feels false to you at the moment.

You have permission to steal my statement and use it verbatim. Or you can create your own. If the whole statement seems like too much to tackle, pick ONE positive soundtrack and repeat that to yourself. Small steps matter!