You have probably heard of positive affirmations.  Pick any self-help book on the shelf and you'll have at least one chapter dedicated to positive affirmations and how to do them.  Visualizations, on the other hand, may or may not be new to you.  Nevertheless, they are widely used and valued. 

The truth is that positive affirmations and visualizing your goals really does work.  Successful people and athletes alike have used these in combination to attain success in many areas.  If you are new to these mind tools, let me quickly catch you up to speed. 

Positive affirmations are positive statements you say to yourself, about yourself.  It's simply that easy.  A positive affirmation I could use to help motivate me to exercise would be "I am enjoying the thought of exercising more each day," which would in turn become "I am starting to realize I really enjoy moving my body more!"  You see, you are not lying to yourself saying "I love to exercise" at first, when you feel like you hate the mere thought of it -- but you're moving in baby steps toward the general direction.  After a week or two, you realize that you have a new found passion in sweating.  You have trained your subconscious mind to produce the desired result, which is wanting to exercise.  I have first-hand experience with this particular affirmation, and I am proud to say that today, I really do love to exercise and do it daily. 

Visualization, on the other hand, is the actual playing out of events in the mind with the result as you would like to see them.  Think guided daydreaming.  Visualizing is a wonderful tool to help you achieve your goals and desires.  We have a tendency to think that visualization may be limited or that we should only visualize the things that we actually have some control over.  But this is not the case -- you should visualize all aspects of your life as you wish them to be.  In doing so, you are creating a different reality for yourself in which you will see new opportunities and people come into your life. 

As anyone new to riding a bike will admit, you tend to run into whatever you are looking at.  In using these mind tools, you will find yourself visualizing your goals as well as saying positive affirmations to reinforce your preferences and where you are headed.  Chances are, you are headed straight for your goal.  The only true obstacle to achievement is disbelief you can attain something.  This comes in many disguises such as, "I am not worthy," "I am not thin enough," "I am not pretty enough," or "we've always been broke," etc.  But these are barriers that you put in your own way.  You can easily overcome any one of these false excuses with faith.  Believe something with all your heart and it will come to pass!   

Now, let's look at how you can apply what we've discussed with your children.  As you know, high self-esteem is a foundational necessity for a happy life.  No one can say they are truly and honestly happy if they feel bad about themselves.  When you share with your children how to do positive affirmations and how to visualize, they suddenly realize that they have a wonderful tool right by their side, all the time.  That tool is their minds.  Through positive affirmations of self–acceptance and visualizations of doing great things, children can build any self-esteem that is lacking.  

It is disheartening at times to hear children tell themselves that they are stupid.  It is important that you work with your child to create positive affirmations and spend some times in visualizing each day.  Create a list together of fun positive affirmations.  Ask your children about their goals and dreams, and then proceed to create positive affirmations from there.  Make sure to include daily affirmations like "I am valuable" and "I am special just because of who I am," or "I have something unique to contribute to this world in a way no one else can."  A list of two to three affirmations to work with on a weekly basis is a good idea.  Write them on a sticky note and put them on a mirror or on the refrigerator so you can see them often.  Practice them together so your children feel your presence and enthusiasm. 

Take some time out of each day and spend 10 minutes visualizing a goal.  This can be quiet time but you should feel to share before and after.  Making this a ritual is not only fun, but creates a strong bond and lasting memories for your children and you.

In today's world, children really need new tools to deal with the daily stress that is thrown on them.  Teaching a child about positive affirmations and visualizations will have a positive impact in their lives as well as their self-esteem that will last an entire lifetime.