Stitching New Stories Into Your Life
If you’ve been following Lucky Threads for a while, you’ll know that one of my daily staples is Émile Coué’s famous affirmation:
“Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.”
It’s a phrase that’s supported me through tough moments and become part of my everyday rhythm. The more I grow into my work and my life, the more I value the gentle power of saying something simple, on purpose.
Recently, I listened to a fascinating podcast exploring the roots of affirmations, tracing them back to two influential teachers: Émile Coué and Florence Scovel Shinn. Although they approached the subject from different perspectives, their ideas feel surprisingly modern and beautifully in tune with the Lucky Threads ethos of simple magic, everyday ritual and the belief that the stories we repeat shape the lives we live.
Émile Coué: The Man Behind the Mantra
Émile Coué was a French pharmacist who developed a method he called conscious autosuggestion. He believed that gently repeating positive suggestions could influence the subconscious mind and help people change unhelpful patterns of thinking.
His most famous affirmation, the one I use myself, was designed to be repeated calmly and rhythmically rather than forced through sheer determination.
One line from the podcast stayed with me:
“Whenever imagination and will come into conflict, it is always imagination that triumphs.”
In other words, simply trying to force yourself to “think positive” often isn’t enough. Coué believed that by repeating a phrase without tension or struggle, the imagination gradually accepts it, allowing nnew ways of thinking.
His approach feels a like free-machine stitching: slow, steady, rhythmic and quietly transformative.
It’s worth noting that modern psychological research paints a more nuanced picture. Many people find affirmations genuinely helpful, particularly when they are believable, repeated consistently and paired with positive action. However, affirmations alone are not a cure-all, and very unrealistic statements can sometimes feel discouraging if they clash too sharply with how someone sees themselves. For me, Coué’s affirmation works because it isn’t about perfection. It’s simply about moving forward, one day at a time.
Florence Scovel Shinn: Your Word Is Your Wand
While Coué approached affirmations through psychology and the subconscious, Florence Scovel Shinn explored them through spirituality, intuition and faith.
Writing during the 1920s, her books read like magical guidebooks for modern manifesters. She believed our words carried creative power and that the language we used could influence the direction of our lives.
One of her most well-known teachings is:
“Man’s word is his wand filled with magic and power.”
Shinn encouraged people to speak as though their desired future was already unfolding. Rather than saying “I will be confident,” she encouraged phrases such as “I am confident,” believing that present-tense language helped align thoughts, emotions and actions.
She also placed great importance on intuition. In one story, she advised a woman with only eight dollars left to bless the money she had and trust the next step that felt right. According to Shinn, that simple act opened the door to an unexpected opportunity.
Her work feels like the spiritual version of pattern drafting: you sketch the shape of your life with your words, then begin cutting the fabric one careful piece at a time.
Affirmations as Everyday Magic
Here’s the part that feels most Lucky Threads.
Affirmations aren’t about pretending everything is perfect.
They’re about choosing the story you want to live by.
Most of us don’t realise we’re already repeating stories about ourselves throughout the day.
“I’m exhausted.”
“I’m rubbish at this.”
“I’ll never get ahead.”
“Things always go wrong for me.”
These are affirmations too, just accidental ones.
The podcast asked a brilliant question:
“What are the other affirmations that you’re saying that are combating that one positive affirmation you’re banking on?”
Choosing intentional affirmations is simply choosing a different story to practise.
Not the only story.
Not the perfect story.
Just the one you want to strengthen.
How I Use Affirmations in My Creative Work
As a maker, sewist and designer, my work is deeply tied to intention. When I’m drafting a pattern, stitching a sample or drawing on my tablet, I’m not just creating a design.
I’m creating a feeling.
Affirmations help me anchor that feeling.
Here are a few I often return to in my studio:
- My creativity flows easily and abundantly.
- I trust my intuition in my work.
- I create pieces that bring joy, comfort and magic.
- My work supports my life, and my life supports my work.
- I am becoming the maker I’ve always imagined.
And yes, I still whisper Coué’s classic line every morning (often while brushing my teeth):
Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.
It’s simple.
It’s rhythmic.
It’s grounding.
A Gentle Affirmation Ritual
If you’d like to weave affirmations into your own daily rhythm, here’s a simple practice to try.
Choose one affirmation.
Make it present tense.
Make it positive.
Make it yours.
Repeat it gently throughout the day.
Not forced.
Not frantic.
Simply as a quiet reminder of who you’re becoming.
Pair it with a symbol.
A stitched word.
A charm bracelet.
A favourite stone.
A sticky note beside your sewing machine.
Visualise it.
Let your imagination do some of the work.
Coué would certainly have approved.
Then take the next small step.
Affirmations are most powerful when they inspire action, however small. One stitch. One conversation. One creative session. One brave decision.
Finally, surrender the outcome.
As Florence Scovel Shinn often encouraged:
“This or something better.”
Your Word Is Your Wand. Choose It Wisely.
Affirmations aren’t about denying life’s challenges.
They don’t replace practical action, healing or difficult conversations.
What they can do is help us meet those moments with a kinder inner voice and a different mindset.
They’re about choosing the story you want to stitch into your days.
They’re about gently reclaiming your thoughts from fear, scarcity and old narratives.
They’re about remembering that you are an active participant in your own becoming.
So here’s your Lucky Threads affirmation for today:
✨ I am creating a life that fits me beautifully. ✨
Say it softly.
Say it often.
Let it become the thread that runs through your day.
I’d love to know your favourite affirmation. Leave it in the comments, or if you’d like me to turn your own affirmation into a Lucky Threads sigil… I suspect you already know where I am.
I turned this affirmation into simple sigils using my Alphabet Wheel and Sigil Wheel, a way of distilling a sentence into a single symbolic mark. Rather than reading the words over and over, the sigil becomes a quiet visual reminder of the intention behind them. It’s something I can sketch, stitch into fabric or keep tucked inside my notebook as a gentle reminder of the story I’m choosing to live by.
Further Listening
This post was inspired by the Psychic Teachers podcast episode “The Power of Affirmations.” Listening to it encouraged me to explore the work of Émile Coué and Florence Scovel Shinn more deeply and to reflect on how their ideas weave into my own creative and spiritual practice.
About Me
Artist, thread enthusiast, creator of Lucky Threads, believer in slow stitches and kinder stories, and someone who knows that the words we repeat can become the patterns we live by.
🖤 Claire
Made with thread, coffee, hopeful affirmations and a slightly chaotic brain.