Name
Affirmations, autosuggestion
Purpose/Effects
Affirmations help us to develop a positive mindset and thus break down the barriers that negative thinking puts up in our day-to-day lives. Positive affirmations remind us of the joy of life and affect our subconscious mind in order to grow our capacity to create our own successes and mold our own reality.
Method
Summary
Create a positive statement addressing a desire for change and repeat it daily.
Long Version
- Begin by making a list of the areas of your life in need of improvement; nearly any arena can be positively affected by the use of affirmations, but for demonstrative purposes, we will create affirmations for anxiety and stress reduction.
- Now create a list of positive statements that reflect this goal: “I am intelligent” instead of “I’m not dumb.”
- The statements should be in the present tense; remember, you are trying to change your present situation, not the future. In our example, it is better to say “I am a calm person, free from worry” than “I will be a calm person, free from worry.”
- You can choose to speak your affirmations. Repeat them throughout the day until they begin to take hold…and continue after that! Like an antibiotic, you shouldn’t stop at the first sign of improvement. Some people choose to speak their affirmations in the mirror while looking themselves in the eye because it magnifies the importance of the message. You can even sing your affirmations! Just be sure to say them like you really believe them.
- You can choose to write down your affirmations. You can write them over and over to imprint them on your mind, or you can write them on a card which you take out and look at throughout the day.
This video has some helpful basic affirmations to get you started:
History
Affirmations have a long history in the self-help movement, originating in the work of French psychotherapist Émile Coué. His affirmation "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better" repeated at the beginning and ending of each day was intended to change the unconscious thought of his patients. This method of autosuggestion was credited with curing a bevy of mental, emotional, and even physical problems. Napoleon Hill's famous book Think and Grow Rich also relies on autosuggestion, as does contemporary thinking on the Law of Attraction.
Cautions
Though affirmations are quite powerful, do not be tempted to use them as the only form of therapy for severe emotional or mental issues. An injured brain will have a hard time curing itself.
Notes
Affirmations are a crucial part of Self-Hypnosis. If you want to supercharge your affirmations, try using them alongside a hypnosis technique.
See Also
Self-Hypnosis
Autogenic Training
External Links
Website all about affirmations, with many suggested examples