Over the next little while, I’m going to bring some of my past content over to share. Originally published on Starshyne Productions.
Affirmations are tools that many people from many disciplines use to shift negative thought patterns and to create positive ones in their place. If you design them well, they make a great gremlin repellent. I haven’t always been a strong proponent of affirmations. In fact, when I first came across them, I was rather critical. I didn’t see how simply saying something to yourself would make it so.
The key, I’ve since learned, is that the truly effective affirmation is not simply positive words we say to ourselves. Rather, it is a budding belief that we have inside ourselves that we want to grow and flourish. By focusing energy and attention on that belief, we are reminding ourselves consistently of what we believe in, especially when circumstances and other voices make it hard for us to remember. We are fanning that little belief spark into a flame.
Some guidelines on how to make an affirmation effective:
- Write the affirmation yourself. Now, if you read an affirmation that someone else has written and you feel yourself simply vibrating with resonance, it is for you. Use it. But generally, if you create an affirmation that stems from your own life and is in your own voice, it will have a stronger impact.
- Affirmations should be stated in the positive. So, instead of “I am not going to eat chocolate,” perhaps, “I make healthy food choices.”
- It’s generally recommended that affirmations be short and sweet. Personally, I say go for what has power and impact for you. If “I am magnificent” doesn’t have as much oomph as “I am a magnificent goddess of creation blessed by the universe with a plethora of talents,” then go for the gusto!
- In The Artist’s Way at Work, they recommend creating affirmations in direct response to your inner critic’s voice. For example, if your affirmations are in support of you auditioning for the lead in a play and your gremlin says, “Who the heck do you think you are?” Your affirmation might turn out to be “I am a talented woman who shines on stage.” Every time that critic comes up with something, defend against it with an affirmation!
I’d love to hear some of the affirmations that you come up with. And if you’d like some free downloadable affirmation cards to get you started, please help yourself here.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I use affirmations daily and find them really helpful.
Today’s affirmation: I am surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family.
I love affirmations, and like you, when I first stumbled across them I thought, “Kinda cheesy.” Now I swear by them, and have seen them work in my life. Some right away, and some over time.
A year ago I started saying, “My life feels like one big vacation. I’m doing what I want, when I want, with the people I want and getting paid to spread joy!”
In January, it came true. I resigned from my job to write full-time and it’s been ONE BIG VACATION ever since!
Love this post!
Good guidelines. Particularly the short and sweet part. I often encounter affirmations that resemble novellas and I can just sense that they won’t have the kind of impact the individual who created them intended.