Winter has always been a go-slow period.

The late nights and early mornings in my study reduce, exercise becomes non-existent, healthy eating reduces, going to church becomes a burden and waking up early becomes torture. Can you relate?

This year I decided, no more!

I prepared mentally with morning affirmations like “Today is an amazing day.” I say this out loud while the rest of my body cries “let’s sleep!” Why do I do this?

The brain runs on programmes which we basically install mainly through repetition.

By saying an affirmation daily, my brain will eventually believe it and stop fighting me. I also psyche myself up the night before by saying “I am waking up at 6am to get to the gym because I love how I feel after a good workout” repeatedly. I back this up by visualizing myself at the gym and the feeling of it. The results have been good, I no longer wake up as reluctantly as I used to. My desire to be healthy is now much stronger than the desire to be snug in bed.

It’s important to spot that little inner voice and what it’s whispering to you.

You have the power to reprogramme it (your brain) with whatever you want through affirmations. Is it simple? Yes. Is it easy? No.

When forming a new habit patience and persistence are required. It doesn’t matter if it feels like you are lying to yourself when saying affirmations; just persist, press on until it becomes familiar. This applies to literally any area in your life. E.g. if you struggle with saving money, start saying “I’m a money saver”… visualize yourself saving money and feel what it would be like. If you struggle with confidence say “I am confident” and imagine what confidence feels like. Try it, you have nothing to lose!

The key word is repetition, repetition, repetition.