Are affirmations real or are they just a bunch of woo-woo clutter? Affirmations do work! We practice them every day, yes including you! I’m here to settle this debate once and for all by giving evidence and science-based facts on why they work and why you should incorporate them into your daily routine. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to create your own personalized affirmations that you can start practicing today!
What are Affirmations?
We’ve been wired to think negatively all the time, in fact, research shows that 80% of our thoughts are negative. Positive affirmations are intended to break that cycle and lead you into a more positive life. The affirmations you choose to say go back to your goals and what you want to achieve. This includes increasing your self-esteem, creating financial success, fostering healing, and much more.
The reason why people can’t achieve what they want is because of the story they keep telling themselves about why they can’t have it. Therefore, changing the way you talk to yourself can positively impact your success.
Where To Read Affirmations
You can practice affirmations anywhere and at any time, here are some of my favorite ways to practice them.
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In front Of A Mirror
You can say your affirmations by looking at yourself in the mirror and repeating them out loud. It would help to have a smile on your face while doing that.
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In A Journal
Writing your affirmations down in a journal every day can also be a great way to remember them better.
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Place Them All-Around
This is a great way to continue reinforcing your new positive beliefs and mindset. Placing sticky notes in front of your bathroom mirror or in an area where you spend a lot of your time is an effective way to keep reminding yourself of your new and positive habits. This will help you stay motivated and committed to your new way of thinking.
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Record Them
Maybe you’re someone that prefers listening instead of reading or talking. If that’s the case for you, a good idea would be to record these affirmations on your phone and listen to them whenever you want to.
In the end, there is no right or wrong when saying your affirmations, find out what works out best for you and pursue it.
Proof Affirmations Work
Whether you realize it or not, you’re already practicing affirmations every day. For example, if you have low self-esteem and believe you’re unlovable, it’s likely because you’ve been telling yourself that for a long time, or maybe because of the comments you received from your parents. Even if you’re not aware of it, you’ve repeated this negative statement to yourself so often that you now identify with it.
Let me give you another example. Have you been wanting to start your own business but feel stuck? Maybe you keep reminding yourself of past failures, which makes it hard for you to believe in yourself. Yet, you’re constantly daydreaming about what it would be like to run your own business and allowing those narratives to take you over.
So yes affirmations can be life changers but if not used right, they can backfire on us, just like in the examples I mentioned above. So, instead of feeding into these negative narratives, we should be aware of them and switch things up to be more positive.
Benefits of Affirmations
Just like I promised, here are some of the amazing rewards that come with affirmations. If you want me to write a blog that covers more benefits and scientific facts, do let me know.
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Heightened Self-Esteem
According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania, repeating self-affirmations causes physical changes in the brain’s self-processing regions, which affect people’s views of themselves and lead to future improvements in behavior.
Low self-esteem is usually triggered by the way you’ve been spoken to in the past or even how you speak to yourself. Maybe the people closest to you have told you that you’re not good enough. As a result, you’ve developed this false identity of yourself that’s now engraved in your mind. Repeating affirmations that prove otherwise will start to change that image you have of yourself and you’ll eventually have a better sense of self-worth.
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Achieve Goals
Affirmations also act as a manifestation tool. Manifestation comes down to visualization and believing in your ability to achieve your dreams. Repeating those powerful affirmations to yourself will cause you to start imagining how it feels like to be living the life you want. You’re also reprogramming the limiting beliefs in your mind that are preventing you from achieving those goals, as a result, you eventually learn to believe in yourself and your abilities.
Muhammad Ali, a legendary boxer, was known for saying “I am the greatest” constantly. He wasn’t when he first said it, but with time, he undoubtedly became the greatest of all time.
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Less Stress
The Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that engaging in self-affirmation can help in stress reduction. That’s because when you start believing in your capabilities, you worry less and trust that everything will work out in the end.
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Improved Physical Activity
Positive self-talk, such as daily affirmations, can motivate you to get up and move more. Studies have shown that it can also make you less likely to ignore your health problems and more likely to make positive changes, such as eating healthier or finding a fun way to exercise.
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Support Healing Journey
Whether you are recovering from a loss of a loved one, childhood trauma, or a breakup, I want you to know that I believe in you and you’re doing great. Healing can be a tiring journey and there may be moments when you feel like giving up. During those difficult times, it’s important to have something that can lift you up and keep you from falling. By repeating affirmations focused on healing, you can rebuild your confidence and believe in your potential to become whole once again.
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Better Relationships
By using affirmations, people will have a more positive outlook on life, which can in turn have a significant impact on their interactions and communication with others. This could also result in stronger, and more fulfilled relationships built on trust and respect.
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Happier Life
Repeating positive affirmations forces you to look at the positive aspects of life rather than only dwelling on the negatives. Studies have shown that affirmations can help you feel better physically and emotionally, which generally leads to a happier life.
To sum up, all of these advantages come down to one crucial factor: the way you decide to talk to yourself.
“You will be a failure until you impress the subconscious with the conviction you are a success. This is done by making an affirmation which ‘clicks.'”
Misconception of Affirmations
I think it’s very important to mention that affirmations won’t work if you’re lying to yourself. If you keep telling yourself you’re rich but you can barely afford rent, don’t expect money to knock on your door. You need to be honest with yourself, your mind will catch up on that nonsense.
It’s also important to remember that affirmations aren’t a magical solution; they must be backed by action toward your goals. Yes, affirmations can be a powerful tool for shifting our mindset and perspective, but we must also take action to make our dreams a reality. Remember, if it was that easy everyone would already be successful. So, affirmations are nothing without action!
Exercise: Become aware of the negative affirmations you keep telling yourself, which might be holding you back from the great things in life. Try to change these negative narratives into positive affirmations.
How to Make Affirmations Work For You
Alright, let’s jump right into it and start working towards your desired goals. Keep in mind that there are no specific rules for practicing affirmations, so feel free to try different things and find what works best for you.
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Figure Out Your Goals
Everyone has different goals in life, which is why affirmations differ from one person to another. To make affirmations more effective, it’s important to determine what you truly want in life and design your affirmations accordingly. This will ensure that your affirmations resonate with you and you only.
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Customize Your Affirmations
Everyone is going through different obstacles. You might be struggling with self-esteem, and others might be going through a rough patch in their relationships. For affirmations to work, they should be related to your own experiences so that they are logical to you. I don’t suggest you just stick with the ones you find on blogs or YouTube videos. After all, who you want to become might not be what other people want to become.
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Start With “I Am”
‘I am’ is a very powerful statement because whatever you say after that determines who you want to become. It changes your self-perception and allows you to step into that newer version of yourself. Affirmations don’t always have to start with ‘I am’ but this can still be very effective to use.
However, never follow “I am” with something negative about yourself, always have something empowering to say, pay close attention to that. Whenever you feel like you’re going to start criticizing yourself, stop and change that narrative.
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Add a Verb
It would be a great idea to make your affirmations as specific as possible. One of the ways in which they can be more focused is by adding verbs that describe what you’re doing to accomplish these goals.
Here are some verbs that you can incorporate into your daily affirmations:
- Focusing
- Willing
- Learning
- Giving
- Committing
- Choosing
- Deserving
- Accepting
- Letting Go
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Make It Present
In order to believe these affirmations, it’s important that you say them as if they’re happening right now. This gives you a feeling of urgency and encourages you to take action right away. A good idea would be to add the suffix ‘ing’ to your verb, for example, you could say “I am learning to let go of my fears” instead of “I learn to let go of my fears.” This small change passes on a different type of energy in both statements.
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Be Honest
As mentioned before, your subconscious mind won’t take anything your conscious mind doesn’t believe to be true. If you truly believe in what you’re saying, you will feel genuine emotions while repeating your affirmations, which makes them even more effective. Therefore, it’s essential, to be honest with yourself when creating and practicing affirmations.
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Make It Powerful
We can now conclude that the thoughts and language we use can have a significant impact on our mood, our outlook on life, and even in shaping our mindset. Therefore, using the power of words to your advantage is a great idea to help push us forward and achieve our goals. So make sure to use words that inspire the shit out of you.
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Don’t Overwhelm Yourself
People often start with 100+ affirmations which can leave them drained and bored by the second day. When you start feeling uninspired while repeating those affirmations daily, there will be a lack of genuine emotions to them, which is a key factor for believing in the reality you’re trying to achieve. So, I would suggest you start with 10-20 affirmations.
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Repetition
Consistency and repetition are key when it comes to seeing results, and this also applies to affirmations. Repetition involves repeating the same affirmations over and over again. That’s because when you affirm something for the first time, it may sound like a simple sentence, but as you repeat it, your mind begins to understand and remember it. So if you want your affirmations to stick, a good idea is to say them 3 times.
Don’t forget to include these affirmations in your daily routine and be consistent with them!
Exercise: Write down your own affirmations and commit to them for 2 weeks. Keep track of any changes or improvements you notice during that period.
Examples Of Daily Affirmations
Below are powerful affirmations that I think can make a great impact in different areas of your life. Remember to add your own customized affirmations for them to be more effective.
- I am capable of achieving anything I set my mind to.
- I’m learning to let go of my worries about what others think of me.
- I choose to focus on the positive and see the good in every situation.
- I am grateful for all that I have and all there is to come.
- I trust myself and my abilities to overcome any obstacles that come my way.
- I release all doubt and fear and I’m stepping into my highest potential.
- I am learning to love myself unconditionally.
- I choose to nourish my body with healthy foods.
Resources To Use
You can find affirmations everywhere. I have 2 apps downloaded on my phone that send me affirmations every 30 minutes (you can adjust that to your preference). If you’re interested, download ‘I am’ and ‘Motivation’.
Conclusion
Let’s recap, affirmations get you one step closer to your goals, and guess what? They’re free to use! We discussed scientifically proven benefits and talked about how we can create affirmations that work for us individually. Don’t forget to design affirmations that truly resonate with you, remember to be honest while doing that, and use motivational verbs if it helps. Bear in mind that affirmations won’t work without repetition and consistency.
So, how was that? Did this change your view on affirmations? If not, take on the challenge I mentioned above and let me know how it goes. Please share this with your friends if you found it helpful. I’ll always be here cheering you on!