“I’m hungry”

“I’m broke”

“I’m scared”

“I’m exhausted”

“I’m anxious”

“I am SO angry!”

“I’m sick”

“I am so tired of this job”

“I am terrible at anything technology related”

…and the one I heard on the golf course Wednesday, “I am a terrible putter”. (more on that one later)

Common statements. We’ve all said them. So, what’s the big deal?  We get tired, frustrated, hungry and express our emotions – that’s real - but how do you feel reading this list? Happy and motivated?  Or overwhelmed and down?

Aha! ~ Your cells are listening.

When we constantly attach temporary emotions or circumstances to the words “I am,” we begin to wear them like an identity instead of experiencing them like a passing moment. 

There’s a difference between: “I am angry” and “I feel anger.” One becomes who you are.
The other becomes something moving through you.

Even language reveals this wisdom. In German, instead of saying “I am hungry,” they say, “Ich habe Hunger” — “I have hunger.” Hunger is something they experience, not something they become.

That distinction matters.

Because your body is always listening. Your nervous system is always responding. And your cells are constantly receiving instructions from the emotional environment you create within yourself by your words … including the ones you quietly say to yourself.

Science continues to explore the connection between thoughts, emotions and physical health. Researchers studying trauma, stress hormones and cellular memory have shown how prolonged emotional states – sometimes many generations worth - influence the body’s chemistry, inflammation, energy production and overall well-being. Even experts like Paul Leendertse – Founder, Root Cause Institute - speak about unresolved emotional trauma creating conditions where cancer develops.  After 18 years, Paul has been able to even correlate specific cancers to specific emotions.

Paul will be the first to say that your body is not fighting you. It is communicating with you.

What’s worth the underscore, bold print, upper case text is that the words you repeat become signals. The emotions attached to them become chemistry. And over time, those repeated signals shape your energy, posture, confidence, resilience and even healing.

That’s why a small shift in language can create a surprisingly powerful shift in results.

Last Wednesday on the golf course, a fellow player laughed and declared, “I am a terrible putter.” I smiled and replied, “Until now.”  She bought into my encouragement that her energy had shifted and wouldn’t you know it … she probably made more one-putts on the back nine than she had all last season.

Maybe the greatest power of self-talk is not pretending everything is perfect. It’s recognizing temporary experiences, that they’re not identities.

So, the next time frustration, fear or concern arise, pause for a moment and speak to yourself intentionally:

“I am safe.”
“I am loved.”
“I am creative.”
“I am deserving.”
“I am worthy.”
“I am connected.”

….allow the, “I am…” statements to keep populating as you feel yourself melt into the words and experience the love that takes over.

Last fall, when I was in hospital, my friend, Cathy, suggested this exercise to shift my being into recovery mode. I check my self-talk routinely and use this exercise if and when I stray from to my authentic self, to return to being poised to receive and expand.

“When you master your thoughts, you become the architect of your experiences. That is where true health and power exist.”   ~  Cathy Chmilnitzky, Energy Teacher and Healer.

Your body is comprised of a high percentage of water. Water is a conductor and water holds memory.  Allow it to hold the good stuff!  Email me – [email protected] – with your experience after pausing to recite your own “I am…” statements.  Did you feel the transformation?