Maybe you’re into them, maybe you’re rolling your eyes, like “yeah, I know what affirmations are–the phrases written on the mirror and chant during meditation.”
What’s the big idea?
Skeptics view affirmations as the lies you tell yourself in order to trick yourself into thinking you’ll get what you want.
The thing is–it’s not a trick. It actually does work. Been there. Did the homework. But it isn’t a magic spell and there is a catch. The idea behind positive affirmations is that the mind can be rewired to overcome challenge, negative thought patterns, and self-sabotage by intentionally saying, thinking, and repeating statements that reflect truths about yourself and your situation that you’d like to see come to fruition.
Skeptical at first
The problem skeptics have with this way of thinking is that if it isn’t true, it doesn’t matter how many times it’s repeated.
What’s the secret?
The secret of affirmations lies in your ability to find evidence to gradually build your belief in the statement. This may mean you change the statement to something a little more believable right now.
Believe the positive statements being made by yourself about yourself, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
If you didn’t press “snooze” this morning and actually felt like you slept last night then hell yes! Maybe you say to yourself: “I’m thankful I feel energized every morning so I can go for a run.”
Do you? Probably not. But over time, you will if you start working on compiling the evidence to prove it.
Make it work for you
Give yourself grace and set yourself up by trusting that your body will catch up with your brain. You’re probably pretty good at thinking of reasons to believe the worst?
The challenge now is to find a new focal point from which to pivot into affirming the best potential outcome.
Those new thoughts will begin to ruminate (in a good way this time!), and our outward perception will be shaped by a new and more positive outlook. The results present themselves in ways we don’t even realize.
“Every thought is either an investment or a cost.”
T. Harv Eker
If thoughts are our strongest assets, are yours costing you or are they paying dividends?
The research behind affirmations
After reading the book Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain and further researching into the science behind affirmations, a few theories, studies, and scientific approaches came to light.
- Neuro-linguistic Programming
- This basically means that there is a connection between the processes inside of our brains, language, and our patterns of behavior that are learned through our experiences. In this approach, a person’s “programming” can change as they grow and experience more in life.
- Self-Affirmation Theory
- There are 3 main parts here:
- The self is flexible.
- People are motivated to protect their self-worth.
- People are affirmed by participating in activities that “remind them of who they are.”
- There are 3 main parts here:
The verdict
Simply put, you have a hell of a lot more control over your mind (and therefore your situation) than you think you do.
It’s not necessary to tell anyone of the intention–it’ll be reflected in our attitude and actions.