When I was in my deepest depression my mantra was "I just need to make through to the next...(minute | hour | day | week)" As I survived those moments the affirmations became more positive and eventually influenced those moments.

I made a practice of saying nice things to myself and being aware of my behavior. What am I projecting to the world? Do I want to influence people with positivity or do I want to wallow in the dark with negative thoughts? It is not an easy road to switch gears but I know from experience that it begins with positive affirmations. Great post, @hopehuggs.