Affirmations get a really bad rap. The internet is full of people who say they don’t work and that there is a right and a wrong way to do them.
For sure…
The way to make affirmations work is to make them work for you.
The mind is a powerful thing, and what we tell it becomes our truth. The main problem, as you already know, is that we often tell ourselves rubbish things.
We use this kind of affirmation all the time without thinking of it. Take, for example, saying something like – ‘I’m so stressed’. This is you telling your body to be stressed – and then it is…
Or, ‘I have had a gutsful’ and then discovering a bad tummy.
Our bodies are listening to us all of the time, and it is especially listening to the not so great affirmations we say all the time.
Things like I have fat knees, my arms are ugly, who would love someone like me, people are judging me, I am unlovable and many, many more. I know how harmful these things are because I hated my body for years. I thought I was fat and ugly, and my arms were horrendous. I really did have an arm thing (don’t ask…).
None of it was true, but I believed it.
After many years of living like this, I was woken up, and I embarked on a massive self-love journey that supported me when my spine fractured and I needed to heal myself.
Two of my big affirmations back then were, I have strong, healthy bones, and my bones are healed. I would write these in my journal and on my fridge with magnetic letters.
In my journal, I would ask the question, how can I have strong, healthy bones? Or how will I heal my bones?
So the first tip to make affirmations work for you is to not only say them and put notes around the house but to turn them into questions and take action.
This approach means that you are focused on the how and not on just repeating pretty words.
The question is, how can you use this method to help you?
First, pick something you want to work on – let’s say loving yourself more.
It might feel a bit daft wandering about your day, pointing to every self-reflection and saying ‘hey gorgeous’ or ‘my heart is open to receiving love’.
But if you did, it may make you smile, which is a fab reframe and a good start to better affirmations.
Do as I did and turn it into a question, then add in some actions and finally, yes, repeat the affirmation to yourself during the day.
My last tip is to reflect at the end of the day and consider what’s next…
So… Now you are doing affirmations.
Journal it: Ask yourself right now what would it be like if I told myself positive affirmations more often.
- How would it be if I did this daily?
- What is the first affirmation that I would choose?
- Write it out and say it. How does that feel?
- Now, what actions will you take?
How to make affirmations work for you tips
- Keep them short
- Choose words that cannot be seen as negative
- Make them as if they are real – instead of saying I am going to/ I will try – say I am
- Repeat often
- Notice your breath and use your breath to help you relax with the affirmation
- Place your hand on your heart as you say them
- Chose to believe your affirmations
- Turn your affirmations into questions, then take action
- Enjoy the process and make it fun
- When you have journaled, turn what you perceive as a problem into the affirmation for the day
- When you answer a daily journaling prompt, end it with an affirmation
- Write today I am and then your affirmation so that it is in the now
- Use your journal to record what happens, and remember to celebrate your successes
Try these affirmations
- I grow more confident and stronger each day
- I am the architect of my life. I design its structure
- I build my life’s foundation and choose its contents
- I love myself and feel great about myself
- I accept myself unconditionally
Next steps
Buy the book The little book of 101 affirmations to get you through the day – available on Amazon
