Using affirmations is one of the most powerful methods I know of developing a more positive attitude and improving self esteem. What are affirmations? They are statements, usually made about yourself, that you assert to yourself, over and over again. You can use ready made affirmations (see below) or you can make your own up using some simple rules.

The Theory Behind Affirmations

You can see the end results of affirmations around you every day in the people you meet. Your parents, friends and other people of significance in your life have moulded your self concept with their repeated assertions (good or bad) about you. If, whilst growing up, your parents told you how wonderful and good you were, over and over again, your self concept would blossom like a flower and embrace this idea. Unfortunately, a lot of the messages given to you by the people around you are … negative. The domineering father who always told you how stupid you were. The harsh and uncaring girlfriend who told you time and again how thoughtless you were. (Ooops, my deep rooted psychological problems slipped out there!). If you hear them often enough, you start believing these assertions on an unconscious level and then make them your own. You start to believe their PR.

But, just as hearing negative statements about you can ruin your self concept, hearing positive ones can nurture and rebuild it. And the good thing is, it doesn’t have to be someone else saying them! Repeating positive affirmations about yourself, quietly to yourself, can lift you out of the mire you feel trapped in. They can give you a more positive outlook and can make you feel good about yourself. I know, because I’ve done the same myself. I started using affirmations as a non believer, but can now vouch for their effectiveness as I am a now a firm believer in their power.

I feel great!

Just be warned. It does feel a little… weird when you say these affirmations to yourself. But just forget that! The important thing is to keep saying them over and over to yourself regularly. You’ll get used to it, and before long your unconscious mind will accept those affirmations as being true. Because they become true.

Some Affirmations We Made Earlier

• I’m a loving and caring woman – and the people around me love it.
• I’m ditching my limiting beliefs and following new empowering ones.
• My job gets better and better every day.
• I’m becoming more useful and more knowledgable in my work.
• My world is filling with joy and happiness.
• My love for my partner gets deeper and stronger everyday.

How, When And How Often To Use Affirmations

It’s good to repeat affirmations as often as you can, but we live in the real world and therefore we can’t spend the whole day in a secluded room repeating our mantras. A good strategy is to select perhaps five or six affirmations and repeat them silently to yourself in the morning. You don’t need to say them aloud: thinking them is enough. Repeat each one 10 times. You may find that initially you’ll have to keep referring back to where you have written them down because you can’t remember them, but very soon you’ll be able to recite them unaided. Once you’re able to to that, start repeating them at night as you drift off to sleep. This is a very potent bedtime routine to perform.

There is nothing to stop you repeating your affirmations mentally whenever you have a spare moment. Coffee breaks at work are excellent opportunities for this, if you are alone. Don’t forget, many people have had a lifetime of absorbing the negative influences that unthinking people dish out so the more times you deliberately open yourself up to positive influence, the better.

After a few weeks of the same affirmations, you might like to try some new ones. Create your own! Variety. Spice. Life – you know the drill.

Making Your Own Affirmations

When making your own affirmations there are two rules you need to follow:

1. Always state the affirmation as a positive action. It’s always better to say “each day I become more independent” than to say “each day I become less dependant”. You are better off saying what you want, not what you don’t want. Think about what you want to move towards, not what you want to move away from.
2. Affirmations must be in the present tense as if you are already doing them. You are already in the process. And as you say them, you become them.

The beauty of creating your own affirmations is that you can choose the area of your life you want to focus on and you can reprogram your self beliefs the way you want to. Affirmations that are personal to you have much more meaning to your unconscious mind.

Get Started With Affirmations Now!

Read what the affirmation experts say – and get started today!