Affirmations have been an absolute game changer for me! When I craft them wisely, infuse them with intention and keep them at the forefront of my mind, they literally transform situations and my life as a whole. The other day my phone started behaving strangely and refused to work. I was due to fly to Chicago the next day and I needed my phone in order to do work (eerrmm.. and check Instagram and research restaurants). I had no idea how I was going to get my phone fixed, AND pack AND organise my very active toddler. The only thing to do was to create an affirmation and let it go, so that’s what I did. I made an appointment at the Apple Store, and kept the following affirmation on loop in my head: ‘My phone is working perfectly and I feel AWESOME’. Well, didn’t that just come to fruition?! – I went in for my appointment at the iStore, and the love Becky did a diagnostic on my misbehaving phone. After a couple of minutes, she said ‘Ah, it looks like your phone has developed a fault so I’m going to replace it. And, it’s got two weeks left on its warranty so it’s free’. RESULT!
I danced my way out of the store, had a celebratory sandwich at a cool café I don’t remember the name of and sauntered home. Now, this isn’t an isolated incident. Since I’ve really got to grips with affirmations and how they work, I’m able to transform areas of my life quickly and effortlessly, and I’m going to share with you the three tricks that will allow you to do the same.
1. Craft Your Affirmations Wisely
If you craft your affirmations cleverly, they pack a double punch, as not only are you programming your subconscious mind to make things happen, you’ve got the universe and the law of attraction on your side too. Our subconscious as well as the Universe, live in the NOW, so words like ‘soon’, ‘later’, ‘becoming’ don’t really mean anything. Similarly, abstract adjectives like ‘better’ or ‘more’ don’t really add the wow factor. Keep your affirmations simple and rooted in the present. For example, go with something like ‘I have wonderful friends who love me ‘as opposed to ‘I am making better choices about my friendships’. It is also important to avoid negatives so go for ‘I attract positive people into my life’ instead of ‘I don’t let negative people get me down’. You can also feel what word combinations inspire and excite you as you say them. If you say a phrase with a negative in it, your focus goes to the negative and it can feel flat or draining, but when you use positive language, the energy is lighter and brighter.
2. Ground Your Affirmations in Your Body
When you do physical movement whilst saying your affirmations, the mental-somatic connections in the brain are reinforced and bring added support to your thinking. The body is also where your intuition and creative energy resides so movement anchors your intentions in your body where they can be brought to fruition. Whatever feels right for you, do it. If you want to dance, drum, jump or do Wonder Woman pose, do it whilst saying your affirmations. You can also say them whilst working out or walking to the station.
3. Include ‘And I feel….’ In Your Affirmations
This, to me, is probably the most important aspect of creating super-duper affirmations. When I started including the feeling I wanted to experience in my affirmations, they really took on a whole new power. When you’re crafting what you’re affirming, think about the feeling that it will bring you and include it. Take my phone story from earlier ‘My phone is working perfectly and I feel awesome’, how different would it be if I had just said ‘My phone is working perfectly’. Yes, that’s pretty good, but adding the feeling really elevated it and connected me with that feeling.
Affirmations are incredibly powerful, and when created wisely, can yield the most wonderful results. Working with the subconscious mind as well as the universe is a powerful combination, so remember to speak in language that they understand. These two powerful forces know how to get you what you want, they just need direction so keep your affirmations simple, positive and rooted in the present. Repeat them while you move to strengthen the mind body connection and infuse them with feeling. Good luck!
I wrote this article for www.intothetrove.com, check out the great work they do exploring where the mystical meets modern wellness.
Photo by Drew Colins on Unsplash