The Power of Affirmations — PLUS— 50 You Can Start Using Immediately

Create the reality You Desire by using the power of affirmations.

People use affirmations for a variety of purposes. Generally speaking, affirmations are used to reprogram the subconscious mind, to encourage us to believe certain things about ourselves or about the world and our place within it. They are also used to help us create the reality we want—often in terms of making (or attracting) wealth, love, beauty, and happiness.

According to Walter E. Jacobson, M.D., there is value in affirmations of this nature, because our subconscious mind plays a major role in the actualization of our lives and the manifestation of our desires. What we believe about ourselves at a subconscious level, he says, can have a significant impact on the outcome of events.

At the simplest level, when we feel good about ourselves and have a positive attitude, our lives tend to run smoothly. Proponents of the “law of attraction” often refer to this is as raising our vibration such that when our vibration is positive, positive things—such as financial abundance, love, and renewed health—are magnetically drawn to us.

On the other hand when we feel bad about ourselves and have a negative attitude, we tend to engage in self-defeating behaviors which may cause negative outcomes, like financial mishap, interpersonal drama, or acute or chronic illness.

And, on a much more pragmatic level, recent scholarship from a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon suggests that self-affirmations actually buffer stress and improved problem-solving performance in underperforming and chronically stressed individuals.

 So What, Exactly, Are Affirmations (What do they look like?)

Affirmations are simply statements that are designed to create self-change in the individual using them. They can serve as inspiration, as well as simple reminders. They also can serve to focus attention on goals throughout the day, which, in and of itself, has the potential to promote positive and sustained self-change.

The formula for writing effective affirmations is actually quite simple.

1. Effective Affirmations are Written in First Person.

Begin your affirmations with the “I” or “I am….” These types of statements turn affirmations into statements of identity. Identity statements are powerful motivators for self-change. Examples of I statements would be, “I am secure and confident speaking in public,” “I enjoy eating healthy food,” “I love exercise,” “I am a loving and compassionate person.”

2. Affirmations Are Written in the Positive (as Opposed to the Negative).

Always state your affirmations in the positive. So, for example, instead saying, “I no longer enjoy the taste of cigarettes,” you might say, “I am completely free from cigarettes,” or “I am a healthy person and I love the way my body feels when I make healthy choices.”

3. Affirmations Have an Emotional Charge.

Embue your affirmations with feeling. Using emotional words in affirmations is important, because of the deep association we have between emotion words and somatic experiences. So instead of saying, “I spend time with my aging parents,” try: “I feel such love and gratitude spending time with my mother and father.” Or instead of “I only eat healthy food,” which sounds suspiciously chore-like, try: “I feel vibrant and alive when I make healthy choices for me.”

4. Affirmations are Written in the Present State.

Write your affirmations as if they are already happening. This means affirming, “I am happy and confident,” instead of “Two months from now, I will be happy and confident.” Or “I am sexy and attractive,” as opposed to, “When I lose these last ten pounds, I will be sexy and attractive.”

This is the step that causes most people to falter, because in some cases they feel silly writing or saying something that they actually don’t yet believe—at least at a conscious level—is true. But remember, the purpose behind affirmations is to rewrite your subconscious mind.

Additional tips for writing affirmations that work:

A review of websites on writing effective affirmations also caution against getting caught up in the how. Because if you believe that you are a certain way, you will—subconsciously—figure out a way to make it work.

They also point out that affirming your current successes (that is, the things that you consciously know to be true already) in addition to affirming those things you want to create may undercut any dissonance you have for making future-paced statements.

Further, many sources stress the important of writing your own affirmations—ones that speak to your deepest desires and using specific words or phrases that resonate with you personally.

They also suggest that you update your affirmations regularly, in order to preserve their emotional potency.

If you’d like to try your hand at writing your own, personal affirmations, there is an app called Affirmable that lets you easily create your own affirmations and work with them every day.

And because Affirmable fits easily in your back pocket, your purse, or your backpack it means that you’ll always have them within easy reach.

How Do You Use Affirmations?

Here are 50 POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS. Can you write 50 more?

When you feel lonely & sad:

1. I feel the love of those who are not physically around me.

2. I take pleasure in my own solitude.

3. I am too big a gift to this world to feel self-pity.

4. I love and approve of myself.

5. I focus on breathing and grounding myself.

6. Following my intuition and my heart keeps me safe and sound.

7. I make the right choices every time.

8. I draw from my inner strength and light.

9. I trust myself.

When you are nervous or afraid:

10. I trust my inner wisdom and intuition.

11. I breathe in calmness and breathe out nervousness.

12. This situation works out for my highest good.

13. Wonderful things unfold before me.

When you are angry:

14. I forgive myself for all the mistakes I have made. (this is the hardest & MOST Significant)

15. I let go of my anger so I can see clearly.

16. I accept responsibility if my anger has hurt anyone.

17. I replace my anger with understanding and compassion.

When you feel hopeless and at the end of your rope:

23. I may not understand the good in this situation but it is there.

24. I muster up more hope and courage from deep inside me.

25. I choose to find hopeful and optimistic ways to look at this.

26. I kindly ask for help and guidance if I cannot see a better way.

22. I refuse to give up because I haven’t tried all possible ways.

When you feel conflicted about a decision:

23. I know my wisdom guides me to the right decision.

24. I trust myself to make the best decision for me.

25. I receive all feedback with kindness but make the final call myself.

26. I choose to see my (family) as a gift.

27. I am a better person from the hardship that I’ve gone through with (my family).

When you are among friends:

28. I surround myself with people who treat me well.

29. I take the time to show my friends that I care about them.

30. My friends do not judge me, nor do they influence what I do with my life.

31. I choose friends who approve of me and love me.

When you are at work:

32. I am doing work that I enjoy and find fulfilling.

33. I play a big role in my own career success.

34. I do not settle for meaningless, boring, and frustrating work.

35. I engage in work that impacts this world positively.

36. I believe in my ability to change the world with the work that I do.

When you don’t want to face the day:

37. Today will be a gorgeous day to remember.

38. My thoughts are my reality so I think up a bright new day.

39. I fill my day with hope and face it with joy.

40. I choose to fully participate in my day.

41. This day brings me nothing but joy.

When you can’t sleep:

42. I let go of all the false stories I make up in my head.

43. I release my mind of thought until the morning.

44. I embrace the peace and quiet of the night.

45. I sleep soundly and deeply and beautifully into this night.

When you can’t get your loved ones to support your dreams:

46. I show compassion in helping my loved ones understand my dreams.

47. I ask my loved ones to support my dreams.

48. I answer questions about my dreams without getting defensive.

When you come face to face with a problem:

49. I am safe and sound. All is well.

50. Everything works out for my highest good.

Source: www.psychologytoday.com