Affirmations & Self talk

I'm new to CBT and trying to educate myself more about it. I'm also starting with a new counselor next week who is supposed to have a CBT background. But in the past few weeks I've been trying to focus on the positives, focus on small accomplishments that I'd normally overlook, focus on the fact that I put forth the effort and tried something as opposed to getting down on myself because I didn't do it perfectly. It's a challenging adjustment to make since I've been so negative towards myself for so long, but I have been in a better mood since making this effort.

The first two days or so were easy because I was motivated after reading something that suggested this approach. It's the next few days, weeks, etc. that's harder to keep going without feeling like you're just acknowledging the same things again and again. How many times can you talk yourself up for doing the same thing? I did start making a list though of small accomplishments and affirmations so that when I'm unable to come up with something positive (having a tough day) I'll eventually have a list of things to look to.

I use this analogy in my self talk during panic attacks. First and foremost I eliminated the phrase "panic attack" from my vocabulary because if you think about it, its a scary term. Second... During an episode your body is just releasing adrenalin when it is not under any threat or stress, that's it! The symptoms we experience are all due to this release of adrenalin and not any form of panic or attack, this I call ARS or adrenalin release syndrome. This has helped me get through the worst and shortens the duration every time.
Hope this helps a little.