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Affirmations are funny things. Though very powerful indeed! They aren’t just positive slogans we toss around like, “My thoughts become my reality”, or “I wake up today with strength in my heart and clarity in my mind”. These are really good things to think and say, but they don’t quite cut it as affirmations. An affirmation needs to be in a present positive format. This means you will mostly be working with “I am…” statements (though not exclusively). You also want to cut out any superlatives like more, most, or -ests. For example, ‘I have the strongest of hearts’ would simply become: I am strong of heart.
It is important to keep in mind that you are talking to your subconscious. It wants things to be in the present-tense, it wants clarity, it wants conciseness, and it doesn’t hear the ‘NOT’ part of the affirmation. For example, you wouldn’t say ‘I am not weak’, you would instead stick to: I am strong.
Affirmations are personal, just like language. There is the common vernacular, and then there is the shorthand that you use with your family and closest friends. Sticking to common sayings might help if you were writing affirmations for other people, but you’re not. You’re writing affirmations for you. Go out on the internet and google some up, read lists, heck read 100+ affirmations. But then choose the ones that speak directly to your soul. Would you say “I am clear of mind” or would you be more likely to say “I see clearly”. The differences are small, but your subconscious is looking for you to speak your own truth into reality. So go ahead and take your time getting it right!
Not to worry, you can upgrade or change your affirmations as you grow and learn. As Maya Angelou has written, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
When choosing affirmations, aim for less than 10. Some people use 7 and some people get along fine with 2 or 4. You can even start with 12 and as you work with them, you’ll see that some are redundant and other’s just don’t quite fit. Writing your own is best, but taking them from lists is just fine. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel! Especially since you want to use these everywhere. Stick them on your mirror, on your fridge, write them in your journal, repeat them out loud to yourself, your cat, anyone who will listen. When you write these out on paper you are getting the most exposure – you are thinking about them, writing them, and reading them all at once. If you read them out loud from the page, you add hearing and saying to the list! When we see these affirmations as second nature, that’s when the magic starts to work and we believe these to be true of ourselves.
Always remember that you are in control of your thoughts. Nobody else controls your thoughts. What people say can influence your thoughts, but ultimately the way that you process this information is down to you. We all have negative thoughts every day. Even people with winning mindsets experience negative thoughts. If you let them, these negative thoughts will totally destroy your dreams and will prevent you from developing a winning mindset and achieving your goals. So what can you do about this? The answer is to neutralize your negative thoughts with positive ones. Yes it is that simple. The practice is more difficult of course. But the effort and persistence will pay off for you and you will be able to change your mindset from negative to positive.
Choose affirmations from the list below, or write your own affirmation. Write these on a page in your journal. The more you think, say, hear, write, and read your affirmations, the stronger they will become in your life.
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