When I first started using affirmations I didn't really know what I was doing. I figured that if I said a statement enough times, I’d start to believe it and it’d improve my life.
After talking to life coaches, practicing for a few years, studying the subject and seeing what has been most effective, I've honed the use of affirmations. And today I’d like to share their power with you.
What is an affirmation?
Affirmations are statements that affirm something about yourself. For instance, “I am kind.” Generally speaking, an affirmation will start with “I” and then say something about who you are, what you do, what you are like, etc.
Why are affirmations effective?
Affirmations are effective because they harness the power of your mind and of true intention. When you say “I am…”, you are deliberately stating who you are and focusing your mental energy on what follows. You are commanding yourself to be that thing.
Affirmations are effective because they allow you to deliberately train and re-program your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is responsible for most of the thought-processes that take place every day in your head. Most of these thoughts are automatic and unconscious.
When you are able to influence which thoughts you think on a subconscious level, you open up an infinite world of possibilities. When you can take hold of your thinking, you can take hold of reality. This is one step to being able to be your own life coach and create your dreams.
What’s the best way to do my affirmations?
Start simply with creating your affirmation. For instance, “I am kind.” If you’re working with a life coach, they might be able to help you come with some good affirmations.
Affirm
Now say this aloud to yourself, “I am kind.” (If you're around people, saying it in your head is okay too.)
How did that feel? Maybe you didn't feel much, or if you’re like me right now at this moment, I was not feeling particularly kind or mean... just neutral. So now I have entered into my conscious mind the FACT that I am kind. We have just shifted the attention and focus of our mind onto our kindness. Beforehand we were not as aware of it.
Feel It!
This is the one part that I overlooked the most, but it is the most important. Words are just words until you actually FEEL them. When you bring your feeling into what you’re saying, it starts to actually create the reality for you.
Be sure that when you’re saying your affirmation, that you FEEL the truth of it inside yourself.
Believe It!
Believing your affirmation might be trickier – depending on how believable you find it. It’s a good idea to start with things that you can have an easy time believing. You might find it hard to believe that you’re going to make a million dollars this year. But you might find it easy to believe that you’re going to make $10,000 more this year than you did last year. You’ll want to stretch your beliefs, but it might be wise to start small so that you can actually believe it.
Consider, what does it feel like to believe something? What is belief? Experiment with saying your affirmation with belief, with conviction, and see what increases your belief, and what causes you to doubt it. To deal with doubts, you may try writing them down, questioning them, journaling them, or talking to your life coach about them.
Repeat It!
Imagine what the effect of saying an affirmation once today is. Now imagine the effect of saying it 10 times today. Now consider the effect of saying it 10 times every day for the next two weeks. AND at the same time feeling it and believing it.
Do you see the difference?
If you really want to harness the power of affirmations, be disciplined, consistent, and repeat them. You may not feel very differently after the first several repetitions, but if you bring your feeling and belief into it, the changes you're looking for will begin to manifest.
Tips
Always keep them in the affirmative. Don’t say "I'm not mean." Instead say, "I am kind."
If you’re around others, you can say them in your head.
Create them with a life coach for maximum effectiveness.
Say them every day, consistently. Working them into your daily routine will make it more automatic.
Your Thoughts
So. What do you think?
Leave a comment and let me know.
Tom Casano is the founder of Life Coach Spotter. Learn about how to get what you really want out of life, what life coaching is, and how to find your coach. Want to live the life of your dreams? Start here.