Affirmations

The first and most fundamental thing in achieving what you really want out of life is just simply saying it.

This is a practice that is no muss or fuss. It’s as simple as it sounds. Say what you want. Either silently or aloud. Do it anywhere or any time. Write down who you want to be. Utilize your sticky pads! Put them where you can see them regularly. Surround yourself with positive affirmations and positive results will begin to emerge. It really is that simple.

If your mind is convinced you are a great writer, or the best mother, or an ‘A’ student, your behavior will begin to support that conviction. It is easiest to attain a goal when you begin your quest with the end result already ingrained in your mind.

Affirmations work as place holders for positive, supportive thoughts. Your mind can only entertain one thought at a time. An affirmation fills that slot with a specifically targeted belief that furthers your goals.

Affirmations are portable, so they can be utilized anywhere, anytime for specific purposes. Say you have a job interview. You are sitting in the waiting room feeling confident. All of a sudden it hits you. “This is a job that could make or break my career. I really want this.” Now, the nerves start to set in. You begin to sweat. You have butterflies. Affirmations to the rescue. Simply repeat to yourself. ‘I am confident and relaxed. I am confident and relaxed.” Say it to yourself repeatedly and with meaning. ‘It is my best interview ever. It is my best interview ever.” Take a deep breath. You will notice that you suddenly regain your posture and begin to feel more comfortable and confident. Clear your mind of doubt and absolutely know you are about to ace the interview. Crisis averted.

Of course there are few suggestions to get the most from affirmations.

1. Affirmations are always made as positive statements and usually in the present tense.

Do Say: I am passing this test.

Don’t Say: I’m not flunking this test.

2. Keep affirmations short and to the point.

Attempt to affirm the following sentence. “ My speech is going great because people see me as a leader with charisma so they get my jokes and take my words with the weight of the wisdom that they truly are.

Did you understand all the nuances at first glance? As a desired outcome, it is a lot for your mind to absorb. It becomes over kill.

Keep it simple. It is more effective.

3. Affirmations work, even if your don’t believe them.

How great is that? By simply repeating the affirmation, without trying to force yourself to believe it, your conscious mind will still accept the implications. They are then transferred into the subconscious mind where they become ingrained as fact.

As an example, let’s say you are always late arriving at appointments, work, social events, everything. You decide to affirm: ‘I am always punctual.” Your mind at first will answer back, no I’m not. I’m late for everything. But ignore that and continue to affirm “I am always punctual.” With the repeated insistence of the affirmation, your mind will take it on. You’ve begun a chain reaction by changing your way of thinking. Your behavior will change accordingly. You’ll start to become more keenly aware that time is running short before a schedule appointment. You may become a better judge at the length of time a task will take so that you can better estimate and budget your time. Your emotions may start to escalate when you are in danger to being tardy. In essence, your mind begins to implement the appropriate measures that will ensure you are punctual.

Be cautious that you don’t unknowingly use affirmations to undercut your goals. Sometime when we react to negative events, we take them on by commenting on them.

I am so stupid. I am sorry, I am an awful cook. I am uncoordinated.

Everyone makes mistakes. But affirming that the mistakes are part of who you are, you can actually make them constants in your life.

Exercise: Journal Code: AFM

Start each day by looking at your calendar, evaluating your day and deciding an affirmation that will be of benefit to the events you have planned. Repeat the affirmation throughout the day. Do this each day. Write down the various affirmations you have utilized in your journal and note which have has the most impact. Also take note of the way an affirmation can affect the way you are feeling.

Acknowledging

Are you guilty of this? Are you the first one to notice your own flaws? Are you the last to acknowledge your achievements? Well don’t (continue) to beat yourself up. This is very common.

Early on, we are taught that someone who is “stuck up” or full of themselves” or “on an ego trip” is a jerk. We’ll often hide the pride we feel after having succeeded grandly. We are conditioned generally not celebrate our wins or even acknowledge when we’ve been very good.

We are certainly never tempted to rub our successes in the faces of those we’ve vanquished, right? That would be considered bad sportmanship.

But ignoring our own accomplishments or refraining from the occasional pat on the back, is a beg waste of energy surrounding a success. We’ve all seen success energy. It is almost an explosion. A team wine the World Series and they all run and pile on top of each other. A basketball player sinks a winning shot at the buzzer and lifts his arms in triumph. The world loves a winner, so don’t be afraid to acknowledge your success to your self or to others.

Having conquered one achievement, we often move right on to the next. Focusing on the next step on the ladder, or the next milestone in our goal. As our new desires become the focus, we can lose touch with the vibration of success we felt after our last win.

A good thing to do is to create a book of your wins. You can even use scrapbook or a photo album to document wins. It’s good to include a picture or any other memento along with a written description of what it took to achieve this win. Also note how you feel about your accomplishment. Imagine the stored energy inside this book of wins. It will be available to revel in each time the pages are opened. Of course, we are not suggesting you endlessly wallow in past glories, but it is important to recall the impact your wins had on your life.

And why stop with your wins? Sometimes we make progress slowly and steadily. It is progress nonetheless. Take the time to look at what you have gained, how you have grown, what the cumulative effect of your accomplishments in life have brought to you and to those around you.

By constantly focusing on what we still have to attain, we put out an unconscious message to our brains that we are lacking. To counteract that, it is worthwhile to focus, from time to time, on our victories and achievements. Create a vibration of success in the present tat is vital for attracting further success.

Exercise: Journal Code: AKN

Take just a few minutes after your morning visualization session to acknowledge the blessings all around you. And don’t stop with the obvious. Look deeply for the little miracles in life that have made you thankful. This is a give and get world. When you get, give back thanks in return and it will keep the cycle of energy flowing around you.

Exercise:

Acknowledging is also a good way to provide support during the process of achieving your specific goals. Once you have established a goal, it is advisable to list the qualities you already posses which will help you attain your objective. What do you bring to the party? Make your list long. Refer t it often.

Within us, we have the power to change and improve our reality. By mastering techniques that utilize the unique power of the mind, we can create and control our own consciousness. And our consciousness can literally turn our thoughts into physical reality.