How to Create Your Own Useful Affirmations

Affirmation without discipline is the

beginning of delusion.

Jim Rohn

What are affirmations?

Affirmations are powerful tools that you can use to help you live the life that you have often dreamed of. Affirmations are positive statements that you say out loud (or not) to yourself on a regular basis. The goal and purpose of the exercise is to reprogram your subconscious mind so that you can begin to remove any negative thoughts that prevent you from living your dreams.

Affirmations work by overwriting your negative thoughts and thought patterns, which are stored in your subconscious, with more positive ones.

The Benefits

Everyone has mental recordings which repeat over and over again in their minds. Most of these come from your childhood and have been directing your actions for years. Sadly, many of these old recordings are feeding your mind negative information. These negative recordings will not always show up as direct statements from people, but they tend to be general theories that you have come to believe about your situation or yourself.

If, for instance, your parents always cautioned you about strangers, you may have developed a mindset that sees the world as a dangerous place. If you come from a family without a lot of money, you may have some limiting beliefs about your finances that prevent you from attaining or keeping wealth.

The good news however is that you can override these destructive messages by using the power of affirmations! Affirmations can reinforce good behaviors and change the ones that you feel (or know) need changing. To make those changes, you need to create affirmations that you can personally identify with so they can help you improve.

How to create effective affirmations

1. Keep it in real time. An affirmation must be in the present tense. Your subconscious does not have the ability to accept a promise about future behavior. “I will eat healthy foods” doesn’t give your subconscious a specific enough time-line or deadline to perform your promise to yourself. Instead, state your affirmation as though it is a behavior that you already exhibit. “I always make healthy food choices” is a present tense statement your subconscious can accept as a fact.

2. Make it personal. For affirmations to work properly, they must be stated in the first person. In other words, it doesn’t make sense to create an affirmation saying, “You must eat healthy foods.” In order for your affirmation to matter to your subconscious, it must be personal and use the word “I.” ”I will choose healthy foods every time I eat” is a personal statement your subconscious can appropriately apply to your own behavior.

3. It must be positive, of course. Lastly, an affirmation must be stated in a positive manner. “I must stop eating junk food” sends your mind a distorted and confusing message. This sounds a lot like ”I eat junk food.” This type of statement will invariably lead you in the opposite direction of your goal. Instead, try something like, ”I choose fresh, healthy snacks when I am hungry.” This is a positive statement telling your mind the exact desired behavior.

How do I use affirmations

Begin using affirmations by choosing a few short, clear statements about the things you would really like to see happen in your life.

Here are some examples:

• I enjoy exercising every day.


• I love eating nutritious fresh foods in healthy portions.


• When I am free from the desire to smoke, I breathe clean, fresh air.


• I have everything I need to be content and happy today.

You can write your affirmations out on note cards and keep them with you in your purse or wallet. Whenever you have a few free moments, you can take them out and read them aloud. State your affirmations in a clear, firm voice with a smile on your face as you say them. This will help you become more aware of the positive vibrations of the affirmations, allowing them easier access to your subconscious mind.

Using affirmations on a daily basis is a terrific way to boost the positives in your life. Start using this powerful tool today to bring the changes you most desire into your world.

If you are still at a loss for affirmations, join us here every Saturday and Sunday where we share weekly inspiration.

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