Do Affirmations Work?
We’ve all heard about affirmations. The dictionary defines an affirmation as "an action or process of affirming something or being affirmed, emotional support, or encouragement."
Many of us have tried using affirmations to no avail; or the affirmations worked, but then we forget to keep saying them.
The first thing we need to understand is that we all have paradigms. Paradigms are a collection of our habits, thoughts, and beliefs. They shape the way we see the world and ourselves. Our paradigm thinks its job is to keep us safe by keeping us right where we are. Most of our paradigms reside in our unconscious, so we aren’t aware of them.
The second thing to understand is that our unconscious doesn’t know if something is real or imagined; it can’t discern the difference. Our limiting beliefs developed in our unconscious after the repetition of being told certain things about ourselves. Or we were treated in a particular way and we gave that behavior a specific meaning.
Maybe, your well-intentioned parents wanted you to succeed in life—so they never told you how well you were doing in school or sports—but instead always pointed out how you could have done better. What can repeatedly enter our unconscious in this scenario is, “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not smart enough,” or “I don’t have what it takes.” You get the idea.
We want to be telling our unconscious a new story. We can do this intentionally with affirmations.
Affirmations must be written and then spoken in a specific way. We don’t want affirmations to be out in the future, or our unconscious will forever keep them in the future. “I am” is a strong way to start an affirmation; it’s in the present and organizes our energy accordingly.
Here are few examples:
- I am a highly successful... (you fill in the blank). For me, it would be: “I am a highly successful coach helping people transform their lives.” You may want to add: “...while easily generating x amount of income.”
- I am grateful for and open to receiving ever-increasing abundance in all areas of my life.
- I have vibrant dynamic health and am able to enjoy all the activities I desire.
- I go through my day with a calm confidence.
An affirmation I love from Gay Hendricks is: “I expand in love, success, and abundance every day, as I inspire those around me to do the same.”
Here’s what you need to know: you can’t attract anything that doesn’t live inside of you. It’s not “out there” – it’s not “outside” of you. We often think we will be happy… when we make more money, when we are more fit, when we are healthier, when we are with our soul mate.
Affirmations help create whatever we want to live within us. We tell ourselves and our unconscious this new story repeatedly, until we start to feel that it is true. And as we start to feel that it’s true, we begin to think differently, feel differently, and take different actions; which will lead to different results. We may not believe what we are telling ourselves at first, but we keep repeating the affirmation anyway. Over time our belief will grow.
When we start our affirmation, we may feel like a fool, or perhaps not believe it, but we keep going. We’re installing a new operating system; the old system doesn’t want to die—so we must be persistent. As we nurture this new idea, our belief in it will grow.
Do affirmations work? YES, they do; if written well and said repeatedly every day with belief.
What affirmation would help you be in alignment with what you want to create? Email it to me. I’d love to know.
Here’s to living your dream,
Cyn
PS - Want to learn more about the power of affirmations in bringing in your dream life? Schedule a complimentary Discovery Session with me below.
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