Affirmations!

Passion and emotion make affirmations more effective. Use words that inspire and empower you.

Affirmations are positive statements that we say to ourselves to create self-change through reprogramming the subconscious mind. Simply put, these statements can shift our mind to make us feel better about ourselves, make us more resilient and encourage positive change in our life. It’s often just natural for us to mentally lean towards negativity. Negative thoughts cause negative feelings which perpetuate harmful thinking. Affirmations can help break this cycle by promoting confidence and self-trust.

As an example, you could be doubting your abilities - “I will never be able to learn this complex subject because I am not smart enough.” Thoughts like this can become self-fulfilling prophecies, where we talk ourselves into believing we can’t do something or we aren’t good enough. Positive affirmations can have a powerful effect in situations like this.

It’s important to understand that affirmations aren’t “faking it until you make it”, but rather they invoke a gentle shift in experience. We can think of affirmations like repetitive exercise for our mind, just like with physical exercise, these positive mental repetitions will shape our thinking and mind.

Affirmations can be used in a lot of situations, among others: to overcome unhelpful habits, improve self-confidence, control feelings such as anger, impatience or frustrations, raise your confidence before important events, improve productivity. When creating affirmations, the first step is to analyze the thought patterns or behaviours that you’d like to change. Then try to come up with affirmations to achieve those changes. 

How to create effective affirmations?

☐ Begin your statements with “I” or “I am”. 

For example, “I am very confident around other people”, “I love exercising”. 

☐ Affirm in the present. 

Use the present tense to formulate your affirmations. This will ensure your mind works on them right away and not procrastinate. Change only happens in the present.

☐ Always keep them positive. 

Direct your statements at what you want, not at what you don’t want. Words like “can’t”, “won’t”, “don’t”, “no”, “not”, shouldn’t be part of an affirmation. If possible, also stay away from words that imply loss (“stop”, “avoid”, “get rid of”, “quit” etc.). Turn negatives into positives: If you struggle with the persistent negative thoughts, then choose an affirmation that is the opposite of those thoughts.

For example: “I will never be able to learn this complex subject because I’m not smart enough”, you could say “”I am a fast learner and I’m well prepared for any challenge”.  

☐ Make them powerful and emotional, say them with feeling.

Passion and emotion make affirmations more effective. Use words that inspire and empower you. Try to use your favorite adjectives and adverbs (“incredible”, “fantastic”, “brilliant”, “passionately”, “consistently”, “lovingly” etc.). 

☐ Keep them plausible.

It is important to keep your affirmations realistic and achievable. Affirmations aren’t magic spells - if you don’t believe in them, they won’t likely impact your life.

☐ Keep them short and concise.

Although you want to be as detailed with your affirmations as possible, a short and precise statement is better at creating a mental image for your subconscious mind to remember and process. Try to make your affirmations succinct, direct, and memorable.

How to start using affirmations?

To help you stay consistent when you start with affirmations, you will need reminders to stay consistent and repeat them several times per day. You could for example set up reminders on your phone or keep post-it notes around your house. Having these reminders will ensure that you keep repeating your affirmations until they become a part of who you are, so to speak.

When you start making your own, they should really resonate with you and feel personal to you and your situation.

When life gets too overwhelming, it can help to speak with a qualified psychotherapist. Online consultations are as effective as in person.

You can contact me for more information: admin@alfordjeremy.com