Daily Affirmations . . .

WHAT are they? HOW do I create them? WHY do I need them?

You’d have to be living in a cave over the last 10 years if you’ve never heard about positive affirmations.  Even though we throw the term “affirmations” around a lot and talk of their importance, there seems to be some confusion around what they are and what makes them so powerful.  I can tell you from personal experience that putting daily affirmations into use in my life resulted in HUGE results both personally and financially.

Let’s make sure we start off on the same foot here.  How do I define affirmation?

A positive affirmation is a confident declaration that something is true.

hmmm…. seems simple enough but that’s a loaded definition that I’ll break down for you through the 9 steps to creating your most powerful affirmations.  For positive affirmations to work, it may need to replace a negative affirmation that’s taken up residence in your unconscious mind.  If you’re having difficulty overcoming these negative thoughts about yourself, you may want to re-read Why You Should Lie to Your Subconscious Mind.

For many people, this is why affirmations don’t seem to work as their negative thought patterns are so strong that it knocks out the effect of the positive statement. These steps can help you replace those negative ones with very powerful positive ones.

9 Steps to Creating Powerful Affirmations for Success

Step 1: Clear out the weeds.

You can’t make room for the good stuff while holding on to the bad.  So grab a piece of paper, fold it in half long ways.  On the left, write down all negative beliefs you have of yourself.  These may have come from a parent, schoolmates, siblings, etc….

Don’t judge them or decide if they’re true.  If it pops up in your mind, write it down.  You’ll start to see some themes emerging like, “I’m not book smart or intelligent.”, “I suck at relationships.”, or “I’m unlovable.”  Once you’ve run out of these, take a deep breath.  The hard part is over.

Step 2: Make room for the good stuff.

Okay, on the right side of that same piece of paper, write the opposite of those belief patterns.  For example, if you wrote, “I’m not smart”.  You now write, “I’m incredibly intelligent.”  These positive statements will eventually become your powerful daily affirmations.This will feel awkward at first and even false…. but keep going.  Soon, you’re starting to feel better.  If you’re struggling for good and powerful words here, use a thesaurus until you find one that really resonates with you.

Step 3: Burn the weeds.

The first time I did this was at an event with Anthony Robbins called Unleash the Power Within.  By the way, I highly recommend that experience for anyone.  Anyway, take your paper and fold it in half again and rip it into one positive sheet and one negative sheet.  Take the negative one, find a safe place AND BURN IT!  Then walk away!

Let go of all those feelings associated with those negative beLIEfs.  They’re not real.  Your mind doesn’t know the difference between fantasy and reality.  You’ve chosen to hold on to those as your reality.  Time to let it go.

Step 4:  Get the verbiage right.

Remember the definition of an affirmation.  It’s a confident declaration that something IS true.  Note that it reads, “IS” and not “will be” or “is going to”.  It’s in the present tense. Also, it needs to be specific.  Last, it needs to evoke a strong emotion in you.  So if you thought you were bad with money, most people would just write, “I’m good with money.”  Eh. It’s okay but it doesn’t get me all jacked up.  How about this one, though?

Yeah, that does it!!  Do you FEEL the difference?  So repeat this process of being present, specific and evoking strong emotion with each of your daily affirmations. I recommend 10-12 positive daily affirmations.

Step 5: Ensure NO NEGATIVE words are in your affirmations.

This one seems like it would be easy but I found it very difficult when I first started writing my affirmations.  I would write, “I’m no longer worried about money.  I’m debt free.”  Does that evoke the same feeling as the one in the image above?  NO! You know why??!  Words like “debt” and “worried” make you feel like crap while words like “flow” and “abundantly” uplift you.

Step 6: Get a friend.

Not literally.  Hopefully, you already have a friend. 🙂 I mean get a friend to look over them with you and give you pointers and suggested wording.  Sometimes just talking it out helps you clarify what you really want.

Step 7: Write your affirmations for success down on colored note cards.

I just started using this step a couple of years ago.  I keep 12 note cards with me with a hand-written affirmation on each.  Once I complete it, I flip it over and take that affirmation to another level and write a new one.  Some people like to make them colorful or include images that reflect the feel of the affirmation.  Whatever helps evoke the emotion for you, do it!

Step 8: Say your affirmations with conviction twice daily (at a minimum).

This is key.  I prefer waking up in the morning, sitting in my comfy chair and speaking them out loud and with conviction.  I repeat them 3 times, then I start my day.  I do the same at night but in front of the bathroom mirror.  I’m literally telling myself how great I AM.  I’m replacing those negative beLIEfs with my positive daily affirmations.  Saying to my own face has a strong mental impact because I trust myself.

Step 9: Be flexible, have fun and repeat.

You will tweak them as you go.  If you feel like one doesn’t get you amped like the others, change it.  It may just be a word here or there that needs tweaking, or it could be the entire thing.  Play with it.  Have some fun.  You should be smiling and enjoying this entire process.  Repeat it every 6 months or every year…. and you’ll see a massive change.

I know I’ve got one last question to answer, “Why do you need daily affirmations?”  After going through these steps, it should be obvious.  Affirmations work.  Both good and bad ones, so which would you rather be repeating to your subconscious mind?  The beauty is this process is that you’re not only adding positive affirmations to your daily routine but you’re also taking away the negative ones that are holding you back.  Exponential growth is possible when you follow these 9 steps to creating positive daily affirmations for success.

If you’d like to study more on affirmations, there is a plethora of information on positive daily affirmations and Personal Growth from SelfGrowth.com

If you want a quick laugh, I was searching google and ran across this daily affirmations list that I thought was pretty funny… some were actually pretty good! 🙂

Make life an adventure!

P.S. — If you enjoyed this post on affirmations for success, please comment below and share on facebook if you feel others could benefit from this.