You know the feeling. You open those eyes in the morning, and you have a feeling for a brief second of “What is real?”

After dreaming all night long, that awakening time frame is a sacred time. One reason? It’s really a wonderful time to say affirmations, simply because your subconscious is wide open during those precious moments upon awakening.

To put another way, this little bit of time in the morning is a powerful time to transform yourself at a deep level.

Because of this, I have made an effort the past two years to say, every single morning, five simple words.

Here’s what they are.

Why I Say Five Words to Myself Every Morning:

This practice comes from an exercise in the book,The Quinn Essentials for Women by Andrea Quinn (which, by the way, was the Joyfilled Book Club pick for May!) called I AM.

She describes this exercise the following way, “I AM is the truth of who are you are at a soul level. It has nothing to do with your personality, your mind, or your talents. It has everything to do with your soul and its greatness.”

Her reasoning behind why these words are so darn powerful? These words are what make up you-it’s you at the deepest core.

“When you walk into a room, your I AMs walk in with you. Our I Ams are how we meet each other. They are your power and how you need to show up in the world.” -Andrea Quinn, The Quinn Essentials for Women

What are these words? They are the words you use to finish the statement “I AM…” when it comes to who you are.

They are not assigned or prescribed to you by anyone other than you. You get to pick them and have total control here. I highly suggest reading Andrea’s book to help set yourself up for choosing the ones that feel best for you (she also did a podcast where she talked about them a little bit too!).

When these words come to you, prepare to feel whole on a soul level…because it is you on a soul level.

You can repeat these words anywhere, anytime. I prefer to choose the morning for the reason talked about above, but they can be whenever (+ however often) you want to. These are your words-they make up your powerful force that is your I AM.

Here’s what my I AM words are (+ why I choose them).

#1: I AM Intuition

This one had to be in there. My intuition is…frankly…everything to me.

It is what guides me, what supports me and-ultimately-what anchors me in this life.

I’ve always had a strong intuition/inner voice, and I’ve really honed it over the years to be able to hear it louder and clearer. And honestly, it has produced such wonder, awe, and magic by listening to it, I don’t see myself ever ignoring it in life.

Thus, it is my first I AM word.

#2: I AM Freedom

Next word for me is freedom.

Looking back, it’s always been a big value for me.

Born an Aquarius, I have free-spirited freedom bred into me. And this has continued to show up in my whole life. I hate feeling constrained…of being limited. Whether that was by going down the slide headfirst+ backwards growing up or choosing to start this space, I have such a tendency to seek out the freedom to do things differently. Simply because I love the feeling of being unlimited.

#3: I AM Light

This is my ultimate hope in life. To (the best of my human ability) be a person of light. Someone who inspires, who looks for the good and who ultimately is a light beacon. It’s because of this, the word light had to be one of my I AMs.

I am reminded of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quote that says, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

That quote reminds me the strength of light. How it can cut through the dark, how it can radically change things and how it -ultimately- is the anecdote for the world.

#4: I AM Love

I truly believe for myself that when all is said and done in this lifetime, it all boils down to a returning to love. What guides this whole mystery of life, the Universe, the galaxies, this existence… is simply a profound, deep love that we don’t have the capacity to quite understand. I hope to embody even a smidgen of this love by making love my fourth I AM.

#5: I AM Joy

How could this not be in there? Joy… it’s what I am all about. It’s what this space is all about. And it’s one of my favorites when it comes to feelings. Joy is more than happiness, it’s really a state, and I wish to live a joyful life as much as I can. So, joy is my final I AM!

I’d love to know…what are your I AMs?

Photo by Jovan Vasiljević on Unsplash