The Truth about Using Affirmations
Maybe you have used affirmations before. perhaps you wrote
positive statements on cards and repeated them every day. Hopefully
you stuck with it and got the results that you wanted. However,
more often, we find it hard to take the time to read them every
day, and without that constant repetition, we don't get the effects
that we could get. This is why affirmation CDs and audio recordings
are so popular.
The idea of positive affirmations makes sense to anyone who
has noted how depressed they get when they repeat certain thoughts
or say certain things over and over. If repeating negative thoughts
and beliefs "works" to produce a negative state, it
makes sense that positive affirmations would work as well. Of
course, with a CD, it doesn't even take time as with written
affirmations. Push that play button and go about your business
while constant repetitions reprogram your mind for success -
that's easy.
However, what if you don't like the affirmations that you
hear on the popular CDs? Or what if you don't want to spend a
lot of money to buy eight different ones for eight issues you
are working on? Then it may be time to make your own. Get a microphone
for your computer and make a CD, or just use a tape recorder,
and follow the guidelines below.
How to Make Affirmations
There are some "rules" for making good affirmations
that are likely to affect your unconscious mind. The first rule:
keep statements in the positive form. If you say, "I don't
bite my nails," your unconscious mind - which has a hard
time with negatively stated instructions - may take it as "bite
my nails." It's better to say something like, "I take
care of my nails with a nail clipper and nail file."
Another rule for making affirmations that work is to use repetition.
You'll want to listen to your CD as often as you can (and at
least once per day for three weeks), but it also helps to repeat
the statements several times each on the recording. Here's a
trick to make them even more powerful: use inflection with each
repetition to create a slightly different meaning. Look at the
following examples:
I create my future with actions I take now.
(The basic affirmation.)
I CREATE my future with actions I take now.
(Meaning your future is created, and doesn't just happen.)
I create MY future with actions I take now.
(Meaning it is your future.)
I create my future with ACTIONS I take now.
(Meaning your actions are what matter in creating your future.)
One final "rule:" Work on one area at a time. If
you try to work on losing weight, motivation, quitting smoking
and making money all at once - it's just too much to process.
Start with one goal, such as "Improving my relationships,"
and make an affirmation CD for that purpose. Listen to that one
for several weeks before starting the second one.
Positive statements - repeat them several times - use inflection
to "squeeze" the most meaning out of each statement
- listen to them often and consistently. This is how you make
and use your own positive affirmations.
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