The Secret To Making Affirmations Work

Have you tried using affirmations though wondered if they really work?

In this short talk I share what most people forget about affirmations, yes, there are ways to make them even more effective! Also, a few useful tips if you experience self-sabotage or want to create a new habit.

Transcript

I want to talk about something that is very widely used in the self-awareness industry and especially with manifestation.

It's called affirmations and some people love affirmations,

Some people think that they're completely useless but it's very polarizing.

Some people think that they're amazing,

That they work,

Other people haven't found any benefits from them and what I want to share are a few useful tips in actually making them work because there are some secrets,

There are some things that are key components in actually making affirmations work and be more effective and more efficient with a shorter span rather than taking years and years and years to actually rewrite what's going on within our belief system.

So very simply put,

Affirmations are positive statements,

Phrases that we affirm to ourselves about ourselves,

About life in general.

So for example,

I am good enough,

I am worthy of a beautiful and abundant life.

These are examples of affirmations.

Now the thing is when we have affirmations like this,

If we believe those and we affirm those then that's great.

Though often a lot of these affirmations are things that we don't actually believe 100% within.

I mean that's why we're using them right to start rewriting the story.

So for example,

If we keep on saying to ourselves I'm good enough,

I'm beautiful,

I'm worthy and we don't fully believe that,

It might take a while to actually rewrite the story if we're only using affirmations in that way.

The thing is we have our conscious mind and we have our unconscious mind.

If you think of an image of an iceberg,

So the very tip of the iceberg that's above the water,

That's the conscious mind and everything that lies beneath the water that's the unconscious mind.

The unconscious mind governs so much of what we do,

So much our behaviors and if we're only making decisions from the conscious mind and not acknowledging what's lying within the unconscious then that's sometimes when we can find things difficult in rewriting the story and creating changes in our life and perhaps we notice some self-sabotaging behaviors.

For example,

A very common thing in the new year is when people make new year's resolutions and they set these goals with good intentions.

For example,

I'm going to give up junk food,

I'm going to go to the gym,

I'm going to do exercise,

I'm going to practice meditation every day and they start and then perhaps after a few days or weeks things start to slip and they let that practice go.

Now sometimes that can be because on an unconscious level there was something that was in conflict with that new habit,

Some belief,

A value,

Something was in conflict with that.

So there may be this good intention to start these new habits and unconsciously maybe we believe that we're not worthy of that or we're not deserving or it actually goes against one of our values and that's when the self-sabotage can kick in.

So it's really important to pay attention to what's going on with the unconscious mind because our unconscious mind filters so much of our reality.

Our whole belief system is there.

In NLP we call this the map of the world.

Everyone has their own map of the world within their unconscious mind,

Their belief system,

Their blueprint.

So one person can believe one thing and another person can believe something else.

They have different belief systems within their unconscious mind and all the information that we receive through our senses,

That comes through our senses gets filtered within our unconscious mind so then we can navigate that situation and we know how to respond and so we don't repeat traumatic events.

So what goes on within the unconscious mind is really important and if we're using affirmations to solely affirm to ourselves consciously certain positive phrases and if unconsciously there's a limiting belief,

A belief that limits us in some way,

A limiting belief that is in conflict with that affirmation,

Then it might take a very long time for that affirmation to actually work because that limiting belief is held within the unconscious mind.

So if we believe on an unconscious level I'm ugly and then we're reaffirming to ourselves with affirmations I'm beautiful,

We can rewrite our belief system,

We can let go of that limiting belief but though it may take a very long time to do that if that limiting belief is very tightly held within the unconscious mind.

So in order to make affirmations more effective and more efficient actually going to the root cause,

Going to that limiting belief first and dealing with that in whatever way resonates for us.

In NLP we have a load of different tools and techniques to work with limiting beliefs.

In coaching,

In hypnosis,

In many different modalities there are so many different ways to work with limiting beliefs and rewrite the story.

We can look at those limiting beliefs and start noticing and reframing that,

Rewriting the story on that.

So a wonderful quick way to start doing that is for example if the limiting belief is I'm ugly then we can ask ourselves what evidence do I have in my life that supports the positive opposite statement true?

So what evidence in my life do I have that supports the affirmation I am beautiful true?

Perhaps we've had a compliment from someone.

So we can start rewriting the story in that way.

That's one way to start making affirmations more effective is to start going to the root cause and actually look at the limiting beliefs that are there if there are some limiting beliefs.

Another way that's really helpful with affirmations is to really be mindful about when we're using them and how we're using them.

It's all very well to just state to ourselves I'm good enough,

I'm beautiful,

Stick some post-it notes up in the bathroom or have little messages around that helps and the more we do that it can help because obviously everything that we are seeing within our environment our unconscious mind is absorbing that and the more that is within our environment the more we can absorb that within our unconscious mind.

Personally I like to have little affirmations on my phone,

They pop up as notifications,

Random notifications every now and again and you can also like find other ways to to use affirmations whether that's something that you put on a post-it note,

Something that you put as your screensaver,

Something that you put as a image like in the bathroom mirror.

Another way that I was bringing positive messages into my life was after having a shower or bath when the bathroom mirror is all steamed up I would actually write messages to myself in the mirror when it's all steamed up,

That's a fun way.

Now one really useful way is paying attention to when the unconscious mind is most susceptible to receiving messages and that's when we're moving out of the sleep state,

When we're moving out and into the sleep state so just before falling asleep and just after waking up this is when our unconscious mind is able to absorb so much more.

I actually have an audio on my phone that's set as my alarm clock that I recorded of myself saying positive phrases and affirmations and that's how I wake up at each day so when my alarm clock goes off I'm actually hearing myself telling myself positive affirmations and I'm in this sleepy state,

I've just woken up and I'm able to receive that messaging.

This is a really powerful way to use affirmations,

To start waking up,

Starting the day with these phrases,

I am beautiful,

I am enough,

I am worthy,

I am alive,

Life is beautiful,

Life is easy,

Life is enjoyable,

All these different phrases whatever is applicable to whatever we want to work on,

Whatever area we're finding challenging.

So think about what affirmations you want to start incorporating into your life and how you will do that,

Find little ways to bring those into your life.

Also what's important about affirmations,

These positive statements,

Is that we're actually stating them using positive words so it's not about I'm not ugly,

It's about I am beautiful,

Notice the difference,

It's stating it in the present tense so it's not about I am going to be beautiful,

It's about I am beautiful,

Positive language in the present tense,

Bringing it into the here and now and if we're looking at the limiting beliefs what lie in the unconscious mind,

If we're using affirmations in a creative way that we're accessing the unconscious mind,

It can be so much easier to use them and to gain the benefits from them and you can get really creative and have fun with this,

There are so many different ways.

I personally use the alarm clock version,

That's the one that I find most powerful because that's when it's catching my unconscious mind at the perfect time to really absorb the information,

Though it's also,

As I mentioned,

It's really important to notice if there are any limiting beliefs first off because that's where the root is and if we can get to the root and then reinforce with all these affirmations afterwards then powerful changes can occur.

Reviews

I enjoyed this talk. You have such a nice voice to listen to. I appreciated how you laid out the steps clearly. I have had mixed results with affirmations particularly around manifestation, and now I know some steps to get more consistent results. Thank you! 🙏

Thank you this was very informative and helpful. 🙏🏻💕

I wrote a majority of this down in my Affirmation journal.
Thank you for this wonderful talk😍

Thank for this, I love the tip about listening to them upon waking 👍🏼