The Secret Of Affirmations
Pause for a minute and remember how you talked to yourself these past days. When you faced challenges and difficulties, what words resounded in your mind? “I am not good enough… I cannot do this… I am so bad at this… I am so embarrassing”—did you say these phrases?
People tend to forget to stay kind to themselves. No one would say such negativities to another person. But why do many demean themselves, especially when they need courage and self-respect? Unfortunately, this problematic self-talk leaks into their mood, views, relationships, and trust in themselves. Such a loop of self-fulfilling prophecy can be destructive!
Worse, people who defeat themselves give up on their self-esteem. They start to depend on others for emotional support to feel relief from all their pessimistic thoughts. They wait for encouragement to escape the voices that overpower their minds.
Here’s a revolutionary idea for happiness, peace, and satisfaction: quit the negative self-talk! Instead, say affirmations. When you face hardships, do not look at your flaws and limitations. Instead, appreciate the traits that empower you, no matter how small you think they are. Doing this helps you support and encourage yourself even when nobody believes in you. Affirmations also brighten up your mind, leading to sounder decisions and relationships.
Imagine this power—you just need the mental willpower to take it!
In this article, we will share the secret of affirmations and how you can find them to improve your life.
What Are Affirmations?
Affirmations are uplifting sentences you tell yourself. If you believe and cling to them even when your world seems to collapse around you, affirmations can keep you grounded and strong. These positive statements are not wishful thinking, unlike what skeptics say. Instead, they serve as mental exercises that can help you feel confident about your identity and potential (healthily, of course, if you do it right).
What Are The Benefits Of Affirmations?
For example, focusing on your positive qualities before high-tension activities and tests can calm and fortify you. It also helps you manage stress. Affirmations can increase your opportunities for success, ease your anxieties, and help improve your mental health. Moreover, affirmations remind you of your values and ideals, spurring your conscience when you violate them.
These are the other benefits and advantages of affirmations:
- Affirmations keep you grateful and optimistic.
- Affirmations help you look at solutions instead of life’s difficulties.
- Affirmations allow you to stay focused on your goals and ideals.
- Affirmations make you feel motivated and enthusiastic.
- Affirmations give you the willpower to resist temptations and self-sabotage.
Because of this, counselors promote positive self-talk with people suffering from depression, low self-confidence, and identity crises.
(However, research shows that some people with poor self-worth and self-esteem feel worse when they speak affirmations due to their mental conflict. If you find yourself in this situation, keep your positive self-talk more grounded and specific. This way, you will not have to constantly argue with the negative voices that wear your mind down.)
How Can You Use Affirmations?
Affirmations can help you anytime, even after waking up or before sleeping. Positive self-talk can help you when you need confidence, overcome anger, and deal with frustration. Furthermore, affirmations can boost your resolve to conquer bad habits and increase productivity.
But affirmations are useless by themselves. After all, even if you tell yourself positive thoughts, you will stay behind if you do nothing about them. So pair your affirmations with fruitful techniques:
- Visualize your goals, then write them down. Recording what you want increases your chances of achieving them.
- Set a timeline and checklist for your purposes. This way, you can translate your affirmations into systemic action.
- Set notifications on your phone reminding you of your affirmations. Doing this will boost your mood during the day.
How Can I Make Affirmations?
Composing affirmations is simple. Look at your strengths and what you can do. Then, create a simple sentence in the first person. For example, declare, “I am excellent at this job.” Repeat this sentence either mentally or verbally.
Here are the strategies you can use to make effective and well-fitted affirmations:
- Reflect on your life’s aspects you want to change. Do you want to be friendlier? Is productivity your goal? Whatever your needs may be, specify your personalities or work that you seek to improve. This way, you will feel more inspired to achieve what your affirmations describe.
- Make your affirmation feasible and reasonable. If your positive self-talk is unrealistic, you only fall into self-deception. So keep your affirmations attainable and realistic.
- Convert negative thoughts into positive statements. Stay aware of the negative thoughts you have. Then, think of their opposite—an optimistic affirmation. For example, if you believe you are a shy person who cannot talk to people, why don’t you say, “I am a confident and friendly person.” If that seems too much for you, start with “I am a delightful person, and I improve how I deal with people.”
- Say affirmations as if they have already taken place. Declare your positive self-talk in the present tense. This way, it will help you with what you currently go through. Furthermore, you will feel gratified as you act to fulfill what you said.
- Declare your affirmations with passion. Believe in your self-talk, and place your emotions in it. Be confident that your self-talk will work.
You can also create a narrative aside from simple affirmations. How would you describe your life story? How do you see yourself—a victim of forces beyond your control or a survivor seeking to overcome trials? How you retell your experiences sculpts how you see the world and pattern your thoughts. Use this to your advantage, not your detriment.
If you think this is cheesy or awkward, remember that you might have been doing its opposite more often. When was the last time you allowed negative thoughts in your mind? How often have you let nervousness or anxieties cloud your senses? But affirmations are harmless and free—and can liberate you from the power of worries.
How Can I Make My Affirmations More Powerful?
This article establishes that affirmations are potent tools for success and happiness. They can also bring relief, confidence, and strength. However, the benefits of affirmations still depend on how you apply them daily.
These are the strategies that can make your affirmations more powerful:
- Believe that you have already achieved your affirmation. Set aside your doubts and worries. Instead, remind yourself that you must prove your positive self-talk right now. This practice helps gradually transform the thought patterns you seek to change.
- Do not imitate template affirmations. The Internet offers lists where you can select positive statements. Capitalism also made its way into the affirmation market: there are t-shirts, mugs, and posters with affirming quotations. However, it is better to make one based on your needs, values, and goals. After all, the solution to your mental concerns is not others’ business.
- Look at things to appreciate. To do this, ponder on the simple joys and gifts of life. Do not look at your recent failures and setbacks. Instead, counter your grief with something to appreciate. They can be your home, family, friends, or hobby—anything that makes you feel grateful. Remember that what you have is someone else’s prayer.
- Make your affirmations specific. These statements work best if they focus on the characteristics you seek to enrich. But align them with your values and capabilities. Moreover, do not focus on your flaws when you choose your affirmations. Instead, capitalize on your traits. Do not turn positive affirmations into destructive self-criticism!
- Keep your affirmations neutral. When people think of affirmations, they imagine calling themselves beautiful, witty, and stunning. (No wonder why some skeptics laugh at this practice!) But this kind of self-talk is bound to fail because the ones who say them do not believe their excessive affirmation. To make it work, make it realistic. Do not use exaggerated adjectives. Action-based self-talk also works well. For example, waking up and saying, “I am beautiful, and I deserve to be loved by all,” will only feed your ego. Instead, declare, “I will strive to treat all people with kindness and fairness.”
How Often Should I Say Affirmations?
You should affirm yourself daily. Turn positive self-talk into a habit; include it in your morning ritual. Depending on your preference, repeat your affirmations up to ten times. Invest yourself as you declare each statement, and place your trust in them. If possible, make someone else listen to you to increase your accountability and confidence.
Consistently affirming yourself reinforces your statement. Furthermore, this practice rewires your brain’s reward system, giving you satisfaction and relief. Stay patient to reap its full benefits in your life!
When Will Affirmations Fail?
No matter how essential tools are, they are useless by themselves. Likewise, even if you fill your mind with positivity, it is worthless without determination, hard work, and initiative. So do not rely on statements to improve your life. Rather, couple your affirmation with action.
However, contact a therapist or counselor if you are troubled by severe thought patterns because of mental health issues or trauma. They can help you handle the root of your worries and insecurity. While affirmations are one of the means of relief, proper psychological guidance can assist you while you cope.
Also see: What is Stoicism? A Definitive Guide to Stoic Philosophy
