Affirmations are best known as short, decisive, and powerful statements that are created with the goal of encouraging people to take control over their conscious thoughts and actions.
They are short sentences that are designed to motivate, encourage and inspire the affirmed to reach their goals and take action when repeated consistently. The word “affirm” is defined as a statement made positively and confidently about something that is true.
The mind is such a powerful thing. In fact, the mind is actually known to have more of an influence on our actions than any other part of our physical bodies.
Affirmations are positively driven and are used to help replace negative thoughts with healthy, constructive thoughts that will foster growth and productive change.
The idea of affirmations is centered around the fact that thoughts and the spoken word has a significant amount of influence and power. When people develop affirmations and repeat them often, this can create a change in their energy, attitude, and their environment.
These are positive beliefs and statements that are recited and repeated in order to work against negative thought patterns and eliminate feelings of
Affirmations are intended to affect and aid in the reprogramming of both the conscious and subconscious mind, which will in turn change behavior and habits.
The words that are included in these affirmations are meant to bring up inspiring and energizing mental images that will engrain themselves on the subconscious mind. This will help to bring these thoughts, goals, and/or ambitions to life, and create a healthy state of mind that is centered, driven, and focused.
Why Are Affirmations Important
The benefits of creating and implementing a set of affirmations in your daily life are quite frankly endless. Affirmations are used by people all over the world, regardless of culture, status, or experience.
Affirmations are incredibly powerful and have the ability to motivate individuals in a way that is consistent and relatable.
They provide a way for people to stay driven, aware, and concentrated on the important goals and aspirations that they have set out for themselves.
Not only do affirmations have the ability to facilitate positive thoughts and productive habits, but they can help replace negative thought patterns with positive ones.
One of the most incredible things about the use of affirmations is that they can be used to completely transform a person’s attitude and overall state of mind.
They have been implemented in the treatment and management of depression and anxiety. It has been recognized how impactful the use of affirmations and positive reinforcement practices can be in fighting against the symptoms associated with mental disorders.
Affirmations can and should be used in virtually any aspect of your life in which you would like to see positive change or some sort of forwarding development. Some of these situations would include:
- Can be used as a confidence boosting tool to use in preparation for important presentations, meetings, or other influential events that may be creating anxiety
- Can be used as a strategy for managing negative emotions like anger, sadness, frustration, fear etc..
- Can be implemented as a means to improve self-esteem and promote a positive self-image
- Can be used to replace feelings of negativity with positive, productive thought patterns and healthy emotions
- Can be used to increase productivity and promote the development of goal-oriented habits
- Can be used in an addictions setting to help overcome different types of substance abuse
How Do Affirmations Work
Affirmations are statements that are typically focused on a specific aspect of life, a behavior, or some sort of issue that is being presented.
These statements are recited and repeated consistently out loud or in the mind, in order to promote action and confidence. Writing effective affirmations that will actually provide benefit is somewhat of an art form.
Here is a simple set of steps that will provide the recipe for high-quality affirmations.
Implement the use of “I am” statements
Starting your affirmation off with a statement that includes “I am”, is a great way to get your mind to really visualize the desired outcome, with you at the forefront.
This simple piece of language acts to deliver a message to both your conscious mind and your subconscious mind, which provides direction and focus.
Use the present tense in your affirmations
An important part of writing effective affirmations is the proper use of present tense in your statements. What you want to be doing is declaring things as if they have already happened or have already been attained.
This relates to manifestation and the law of attraction, in that you can use affirmations to call into existence the things that you desire and wish to achieve.
Make statements about what you DO want, not what you don’t
People sometimes tend to make statements about what they don’t want to happen, which is in itself an indicator of low self-confidence and the inability to act.
It is important to make sure that your affirmations are built around statements involving the things that you DO want, and not the things that you don’t want. This will help keep you open to growth, development and new opportunities.
Example
- “I am going to pass my chemistry final” – as opposed to
- “I do not want to fail my chemistry final”
Try to keep your affirmations short and decisive
Another important thing to remember when writing up a good set of affirmations is that you want to keep them nice and short.
Make statements that are direct, decisive and capture the essence of what you are looking to achieve.
This will help make your affirmations impactful and memorable. Keeping them brief instead of long and complicated is crucial for a quality result.
When appropriate, try to be specific
In some affirmations, depending on what they are directed at, it can be good to use specific values or names within the statement. Something like, “I am so happy about the $50,000 I made this quarter” is an example of this.
Putting specifics into your affirmations can definitely help with motivation and focus, and create a more powerful statement overall.
Always write your affirmations in terms of YOU
Affirmations will be most effective and resonate best when they are written in terms of YOUR actions, not the actions of others. Be sure to always focus on yourself.
Affirmations will usually target some sort of specific aspect of your life. Here are a few things to consider when thinking about your statements.
- Think about parts of your life that you would like to see change, and how you can make these changes happen
- Make sure that the goals set by your affirmations are realistic, credible and actually achievable
- When you do recite your affirmations, do so with conviction and confidence. This will help your mind become comfortable with the statements at hand
Affirmation Examples
Here is a collection of some examples of good affirmations:
- I am strong and resilient
- I am not afraid to stand up for myself and what I believe in
- I am successful and financially stable
- I am proud of everything I have accomplished
- I am incredibly happy with the $100,000 I earned this year
- I am confident in my abilities
- I allow myself to be who I am without judgment
- I am consistently heading in the right direction
- I am grateful for my achievements
- I am grateful for the supportive people in my life
- I am ecstatic with my recent promotion to “blank”
- I am worthy of attaining what I desire
- I can, and I will
- I am in control of what happens in my life
- I am loved and appreciated
Morning Affirmation
Affirmations can be used effectively at any time of the day to provide comfort, motivation and feelings of positivity. However, using these in the morning has been known to be especially influential.
What we do and what happens in the first 5 – 10 minute period after waking up each day can have a huge impact on our mood, emotional state, and physical stability.
Mornings are incredibly crucial for properly setting yourself up physically and mentally to take on the day with a positive, productive mindset.
Putting yourself in a good frame of mind in the first few minutes of every morning will set the stage for a good day.
Morning affirmations are quite popular nowadays and are truly a great way to get your day started off on the right foot. Here is a list of some of our favorite morning affirmation statements that you can feel free to use!
- I am feeling strong and confident today
- I have everything that I need to succeed
- I have accomplished all of the things I set out to accomplish
- I am patient, and take things as they come
- I am excellent at what I do
- I believe in myself and my purpose
- I will achieve my dreams and goals
- I am grateful for the opportunities today brings
- I embrace what today brings
- I am in control of my mindset and my emotions
- I am creating my best possible life
- I bring value to the table
- I control my own happiness
- I am grateful for the support that I have
Conclusion
The human body and mind are constantly connected and will function with respect to the relative healthiness of one another. Maintaining a healthy mindset is essential to maintaining a healthy body, and vice versa.
It is incredibly important to be aware of how you are feeling in both body and mind and to take action by doing the right things to stay positive and driven.
Today we have discussed the concept of affirmations, which are generally defined as strong, positive statements that are used to foster confidence and motivation while suppressing negative thoughts and feelings of uncertainty.
We also talked about why affirmations are important and applicable to our daily lives. From confidence and self-esteem building to battling negative thoughts and providing motivation, these statements can be used in a variety of ways.
This article gave insight into how affirmations can be written properly and effectively, in order to allow for the best results. We discussed things like using the present tense, talking only about yourself, as well as keeping your affirmations short, and decisive.
Finally, we offered a collection of examples of high-quality affirmations that can cater to a variety of individuals in a variety of situations. We also discussed the idea of morning affirmations and provided some examples of those as well.
We hope we were able to provide a good answer to the question of “what are affirmations?”, while diving deeper into the art of creating and using affirmations in a way that maximizes the potential benefits. Thanks for reading!
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