How to craft affirmations?

[jesseissorude]

So many people I admire swear by affirmations. I personally don't know if they work or not, but I'd like to add them to my morning routine.

My problem is that everything I google about it is a eHow, Wikihow, or Yahoo! Answers article about how to make affirmations. Even searching the topic on this site returns mostly discussions about whether they work or not.

{ One of the few good links I've found: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-wise-open-mind/201108/5-steps-make-affirmations-work-you }

• Does anyone do affirmations? How did you make your first ones and how have they changed at different stages in your life?

What this thread is not:
There are plenty of threads on this board arguing whether or not affirmations work, so that discussion has been had. I'm committed to adding these to my morning routine to experiment and see if they work for me; it's just some dumb thing I want to do for a minute before my shower. What I'm looking for is how to start.

Thanks kittens.

 

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[Kreedos Phoenix]

I can go really deep here. But, I will say I've had visions (backed with action of course) and they've come to fruition. Several of them are happening right this minute.

But one time, I drew (sketched) what I wanted. I claimed I had it and stated the reasons why I was going to get it. I had a shot at getting it but the odds were all the way against me. But, I drew it, claimed it with absolute clarity and belief.

I went and showed a few people my sketch and then, the organization made the announcement that I'd be receiving the product.

Man so many haters that day, made many believers and followers too.

Thats my little affirmation story for the day.

*side note: I believe that if you think of it as "some dumb thing" then that is more than likely what it will be. It probably wont do anything for you. Belief is everything for me. But everyone is different.

Peace!

 

[Tlcalis]

I read a great book called Release Your Brakes the guy who wrote it was an expert on goal setting, comfort zone and affirmations here's a great article on affirmations inspired by release your brakes
http://www.warriorforum.com/mind-wa...tions-visualizations-most-effective-tips.html
But PM me them I will tell you what might be A LOT better than simply having 20 lines of affirmations of goal/affirmations and repeating them a couple of times a day because for me that dog doesn't hunt

 

[jesseissorude]

But PM me them I will tell you what might be A LOT better

PM you my affirmation drafts you mean?

I got lost on this sentence. It's late

 

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[1milclub]

You may like/want to consider this TED talk -
Draw Your Future - Patti Dobrowolski:

 

[1milclub]

But PM me them I will tell you what might be A LOT better than

Strange - "Secret"? Why not to share with others?

 

[Kreedos Phoenix]

I feel people tend to make it a lot more complicated than it should/could be. A great mix of vision, belief and concentrated action toward your ideals can really make a lot of noise which will produce favorable results. But again, this is just my opinion although its mixed with a ton of experience (and tangible results).

 

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[Mattie]

Affirmations are what you tell yourself every day through negative self-talk. People say they don't work because they don't believe in themselves, and rather be lazy and repeat the negative self-talk. For example: I can't succeed. I'm not good enough. I'm not worthy. I'll never amount to anything. You've been using affirmations all your life, just the negative ones. You just need to turn them around into positive ones.

What is an affirmation? You are affirming you are stupid, smart, you're successful or a failure. Affirmations work, most people just don't understand the affirmations they believe are the negative kind and to lazy to discipline their thoughts to think differently.

 

[FionaS]

http://halelrod.com/ep-43-the-affirmations-formula/

This is the technique I use.

"I am committed to _____ (action) _____ (frequency) so that I can _______ (goal) by _____ (deadline), because ____ (reason)."

 

[KLaw]

http://halelrod.com/ep-43-the-affirmations-formula/

This is the technique I use.

"I am committed to _____ (action) _____ (frequency) so that I can _______ (goal) by _____ (deadline), because ____ (reason)."

Is this kind of like NLP?

 

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[AndrewNC]

I don't suggest trying this unless you know what you're doing:

Quick rundown of how I poke holes in limiting beliefs - Every thought in my mind has a picture (and perhaps sounds/feelings) attached to it. I bring that up and write down the submodalities (See picture below).

The submodalities of the belief are how we encode beliefs in our mind. It is like the grooves on the key. Once you figure out what these are, you can change them and change the way you think. The most common ones that change are the location of the picture, if you're associated/disassoicated, and the color/brightness.

Step 1- Write down the submodalities of the limiting belief after you bring up that picture in your mind.
Break State
Step 2 - Write down the submodalities of something that was true, but is no longer true (I used to live in new york, now I don't)
Break state.
Step 3 - Bring up the limiting belief and change the submodalities of the limiting belief to match the submodalities of the thing that is no longer true.

Ask yourself how you feel different now about that old belief.

Step 4- Bring up a picture/submodalities of something you know is absolutely true (the sun will rise tomorrow, it is good to breath, etc.).
Break state
Step 5 - Bring up the picture/submodalities of the opposite (desired) belief from step 1. Something you want to replace that old belief with.
Step 6 - The belief you want, change the submodalities to the thing you know is 100% true.

You don't change the content of the belief, just the submodalities.

Step 7 - Ask yourself how you feel different now about that old belief you used to have.
Step 8 - When you are in a situation in the future where that old belief might have come up, how will you act differently now. What would you do differently.

 

[FionaS]

Is this kind of like NLP?

I am not very familiar with NLP, but I suppose it is in a way.

The idea is this: what you think is how you see the world - if you are a pessimistic person, you see the bad before the good (as an example).

Affirmations is a technique that will let you consciously change your thoughts, both conscious and subconscious. It's the idea of, "say something enough times and you'll believe it", I suppose. Change your mindset, and taking action will follow. Make yourself believe that you are committed to do something, and you will do that thing.

There are many different ways to do affirmations, I like the one I listed because you aren't trying to lie to yourself - you're not telling yourself that you own a Lambo when you don't, or that you have a 6 pack when you don't. You're telling yourself that you are committing to the process of achieving whatever goals you're trying to achieve. Not all of my affirmations are in this format, but quite a few are.

An personal example:

• I commit to completing 2 Toastmasters speeches by December 31, 2014, because I want to be more comfortable getting in front of other people and expressing myself in an effective, interesting, and humorous way. (achieved this, by the way )

I also have affirmations such as:

• I strive to improve who I am as a person every single day.
• "I am in full control of myself and my actions, so it's up to me to make the most of my day - no one else." (I think I stole this one from Hal Elrod)
• The expectations I exceed today become the seeds for new opportunities in the future.
• I do not let any fears or insecurities keep me from meeting the people I want to meet and doing what I want to do.
• "Reality can be shaped and changed by my direct actions, and so I will act with constancy to forge my ideal life." (Brendon Burchard)

 

[jesseissorude]

You've been using affirmations all your life, just the negative ones.

So this is along the same lines that Mattie and AndrewNC said, but I made a semi-relevant realization.

Bear with me here.

I skateboard. Still with me?

I'm a 32 year-old who hangs out with 12 year-olds, haha.

Anyway, there's this ONE trick I've been practicing for the better part of a year, but I keep failing at it.

I realized this just now: Before I do do the trick, I picture myself falling and doing a quick tuck-and-roll and standing up unhurt. It makes me feel like if things go wrong, I'll be fine.

BUT I've been literally visualizing and re-enforcing failure. I haven't been failing; I've been doing the trick exactly right according to my vision. From now on, I'll only picture landing it.

 

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[Jonleehacker]

Affirmations are a big topic and I use them a lot, but not in the traditional sense.

The first key point in with affirmations is you can only affirm things that you know, in the deepest part of yourself, with full alignment, are true.

If I affirm, "I am a millionaire" and I only have a $200 net worth. That just creates tension inside of me between the different aspects of myself... internal tension and conflict is exactly what limits us.

So I would affirm, "I have everything within me that it takes to make a million dollars" ... there isn't any argument inside of me with this statement and therefore it moves my subconscious in the direction of making the million dollars by developing the aspects in me that are capable of reaching this goal.

The other way I use affirmations is similar, but it would be to say to myself, "I am a millionaire" even if I have only $200 net worth and then pay attention to all the doubts and negative beliefs that argue with that statement let them go. By "let them go" I mean to do the deep therapeutic work of getting to the root of those beliefs, most likely set by the role models we had in childhood and really deeply feeling into them until they release their power. Some examples of the type of things that would come up would be, "making money is hard" "I come from a poor family" "I don't deserve to be successful" etc.

Good luck, hope this helps.

 

[jesseissorude]

Hey everyone, thanks for the awesome replies!

Here's what I've been learning from my affirmation research:

It's good to keep thing in present or even past tense. The cognitive dissonance (like Jonleehacker mentioned) keeps you uncomfortable with anything in your current situation that isn't congruent with the belief you are trying to affirm (and of course the discomfort translates to action).

A lot of people have brought up that you need to believe to your core that the affirmations are real. And I do have many positive beliefs about myself that I think are true with every fiber of my being, but the things I'm trying to create affirmations around are where I hold doubt. BUT From what I'm reading, the act of repeating the affirmation every day, rewires you to "believe it despite your doubts" if that makes sense. Then soon, since you believe it, the doubts trickle away.

I guess I wasn't looking at it as a long-term process, when of course it is. You don't just change long held negative beliefs instantly.

 

[johnp]

Quick rundown of how I poke holes in limiting beliefs - Every thought in my mind has a picture (and perhaps sounds/feelings) attached to it. I bring that up and write down the submodalities (See picture below).

Interesting post.

Here's a video that I recently came across. The Myth of Limiting Beliefs. I believe in what you said, but he does present an interesting perspective on the topic.

I thought that I had a ton of different problems until I watched the video above.

 

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[Tlcalis]

In short It's not really a secret
it's hypnosis
http://blogs.naturalnews.com/the-secret-behind-mike-tysons-athletic-performance-hypnosis/
http://www.3news.co.nz/entertainment/hypnosis-key-to-mike-tysons-ferocity-2013112606#axzz3O10wfB7l
http://www.dailyoffbeat.com/articles/976/20140713/mike-tyson-hypnotized-destroy.htm

I'm going to see a qualafied hypnoterapist / hypnotist tomorow to learn how to get in a trance which I'm unable to do by myself therefore I need help because I believe affimrations works a lot better when you're in a trance

 

[Journey2Million$]

You just say something positive about yourself in the first person, present tense. Also never use negative words such as "don't", because the subconscious can't process negative words. So if you say "I don't eat too much," your subconscious translates that to mean "I eat too much." So instead of saying something like "I don't have credit card debt," You should say: "I am free from credit card debt."

I listen to the "Think Right Now" series of affirmations. These work very well.

I also write down affirmations and goals on post-it notes and put them on my monitor.

Visualization also is very powerful. I find that visualization makes me highly motivated for about 3 days and then it wears off.

 

[Mr.B]

Also never use negative words such as "don't", because the subconscious can't process negative words.

Does anyone know this 'fact' originated from? I've heard it many times before, but have never understood where it came from or why it is commonly accepted as truth. Our minds are incredibly complex and I find it hard to believe that our subconscious can't process a negative.

 

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