by Colleen Cannon
I first met Louise Hay around 1986 and was instantly inspired by her work. She tremendously improved my racing career and forever changed my life.
I was racing as a professional triathlete in Southern California and trying to stay at the top of my game. All of the women at the top of the racing circuit had similar physical abilities so I knew that to win consistently I needed to learn more about Training the MIND!
So.. as luck would have it, I went to an afternoon workshop on “Affirmations” with Louise Hay.
No one had heard about Affirmations at that time but I took good notes and went home super happy and positive. This was the start of an amazing journey balancing my Body and my Mind.  She explained that an affirmation is really anything you say or think. A lot of what we normally say and think is quite negative and doesn’t create good experiences for us. She said we have to retrain our thinking and speaking into positive patterns if we want to change our lives.
I wanted to win at racing and she showed me how these SHORT, POSITIVE AND POWERFUL statements created “Happy Thoughts” which made me feel good and ultimately helped me win lots of triathlons.
(Even if I was in a huge headwind on a bike I could focus my mind by saying the affirmations and turn my attitude around)
Louise Hay was my secret weapon!
I took my Affirmations seriously.  I put sticky notes with positive “first person” statements all over my house, my bike, my car, my swim cap, my waterbottle and even inside my refrigerator.
She made me a tape to listen to before my races to help inspire and focus my energy.
I remember one training ride with my competitive friends when I was singing at the top of my lungs
“I love and accept myself, exactly as I am” in this great tune she gave me. My friends looked at me and burst out laughing. I did not care because I was the one laughing at the end of the race.
Your affirmations should be short and sweet.
My favorite one that I use everyday is
“I AM OK”.. I use this especially when I am mt biking down a hill super fast.
I will forever be indebted to this Fairy-Angel-Happy Molecule-Wonder WOMAN.
I have had her POWER THOUGHTS TINY BOOK with 365 Daily Affirmations on my desk for years and my favorite card deck is the Power of Thought cards. I hand those out at the Women’s Quest retreats.
I will miss her morning messages and feeling her positive force on earth.
So Today and Everyday: I hope you will join me in saying one simple daily affirmation. You can go online to Hay House and find lots of fun ones.
If you can do one simple affirmation a day we can all create a more peaceful and loving world.