Affirmations are the key to achievement and self talk is the most important conversation a person can have. Whether you ‘can’ or ‘can’t’, you’re correct. Use positive self-talk with conviction and you start down the path to success.  

One of my great passions is flying. My first airplane was a 1946 Taylorcraft. Buying the plane was a dream come true. Learning to land, however, was one of the most difficult skills I’d ever tried.  

The decision to buy the T-craft was purely emotional, fueled by a lifelong dream. Flying, I reasoned, would be a great hobby, an excellent escape, and a fun pursuit. I knew I could learn to fly. Besides, how could a lifelong aspiration be anything but fun? Any forethought of complication was immediately dismissed…

Flash forward a few weeks. During one very long and difficult lesson, reality struck: I was struggling with learning to land. It was evident to my flight instructor long before it occurred to me. In one session, I attempted eleven landings – all of which ended badly. For some reason, my mind did not reconcile with the idea of gently returning to earth. 

That day I learned four key points:

1.    Landing is an important skill to master

2.    Landing is the key to competent flying

3.    I am not the first pilot to face this challenge

4.    Confronting this challenge will test my resolve

So I decided then and there to ‘love to land.’ At least 100 times per day I said quietly to myself, out loud to no one in particular, and in hand-written notes later discarded, “I love to land.” This self-talk, repeated regularly, over and over and over, cannot be ignored by the mind. Affirmations are the key to success they serve as verbal reminders of our determination.

Master landing I did. Since then, I’ve used affirmations in the face of some very challenging situations. Give it a try the next time you face a daunting challenge.