The Power of Positive Affirmations
“Mastery comes from confidence. Confidence comes from experience. Experience comes from practice. Practice comes from commitment. And commitment comes from vision.” -Randy Gage
According to the National Science Foundation, the average person has about twelve thousand thoughts a day. The thoughts that travel though our minds shape us and give us the beat we walk to—they are the soundtrack of our lives.
What is your soundtrack like?
Ponder this for a second: How many of your thoughts are positive and how many are negative criticisms you hear from others or from yourself? How many are worries or negative judgments? How are those thoughts influencing you?
It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by negative thoughts without realizing it. You may catch yourself in a pattern of focusing on what you feel is lacking in your life as opposed to recognizing and expanding upon the things that make you feel grateful and happy.
Affirmations give you the power to rewrite your personal soundtrack to include the optimistic and encouraging thoughts that help you grow and achieve what you really want. The act of stating your desires out loud helps to literally rewire the brain pathways that discourage and limit you. All achievement begins in the mind, so we practice affirmations to galvanize the mind into positive action. You are what you think!
Affirmations need to be stated in the most positive terms possible. It’s best to avoid negative statements, or phrases with any grammar of negation. Use sentences that concretely affirm what you do want rather than what you don’t want.
For example: “I am no longer unhealthy” is a negative statement. Your brain will pick up primarily on the “no” and “un” of that sentence, which detracts entirely from your purpose.
Instead, affirm, “I am now perfectly healthy in body, mind, and spirit.” This statement is much more powerful: it is positive, which reinforces your desired goal and doesn’t confuse your subconscious mind with the mention of the undesirable condition.
Also, make sure to structure your affirmations in the present tense. Avoid phrases like, “I am going to have a wonderful job,” because speaking in the future tense means your results will always be waiting to happen. Instead, affirm your desires in the present, for example, “I now have a wonderful job.”
The following points are the mechanics that make affirmations powerful. When crafting your affirmations, be sure to incorporate each of the following elements:
REPETITION: Repeating imprints the affirmation into your subconscious mind.
EMOTIONS: Get involved, be passionate, and use your emotions. Think carefully about the meaning of the words as you repeat them rather than just writing, typing, or saying them.
PERSISTENCE: Practicing affirmations with persistence achieves results much sooner than practicing them periodically. Successive sessions will have a compounding effect.
BELIEF: You need the ability to feel what it would be like when the desire you’re affirming is fulfilled. Every time that you have a need—and that need is met—a certain feeling is produced in you.
IMPRESS YOURSELF: Personalize your affirmations. They must resonate with you—feel right to you. The stronger your connection with the affirmation, the deeper the impression it makes on your mind, and the sooner you will manifest positive results.
Through meditation and the practices taught here, you have the opportunity to rewrite your negative thinking and focus on the positive things that are constantly blossoming around you. The more you actively reflect on your gifts and opportunities, the more strongly you position yourself for happiness and success.
Every day, recognize your progress by complimenting yourself, and while you’re at it, compliment someone else, too!
