Are You Working With Affirmations?

affirmationsThere are various opinions and schools of thought on the use of affirmations. There are some who refer to affirmations as ‘New Age’ thinking. Others who say “Nothing is going to happen just because you hope it happens.” For those who are in this camp – there you are – you have been recognized!

The reality is that affirmations are part of what Anthony Robbins (as in Tony Robbins of the famous walk on the hot coals events) teaches and is referenced in Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). Well known classic books discuss the concepts and benefits of positive affirmations – Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles.

The use of positive affirmations helps us to create a positive mental attitude. 

In actual use positive affirmations are written out and placed in a location where the statement will be seen first thing in the morning each day. This will trigger us to say the positive affirmation out loud each day to begin our day.

For those who require a little more scientific support feel free to research the topic of ‘how much of the human brain is utilized’ question. Read through the information and take note of the part which refers to:

Perhaps the broadest, most mysterious question is how diverse regions of the brain collaborate to form conscious experiences. To date, there is no evidence that there is one site for consciousness, which leads experts to believe that it is truly a collective neural effort. Therefore, the idea exists that humans have untapped cognitive potential…

Add into the mix the fact that we – all humans – learn best through ‘spaced repetition’. This is especially true when the senses are brought into play. Where reading an item is combined with hearing the item read and potentially watching the item presented via a video. Multiple repetitions and multi-sensory.

An affirmation may be on a specific topic. Affirmations may be from a book or another written work which is meaningful to us. Should one desire to create their own affirmation, keep in mind that it needs to be present tense, positive, personal and specific.

Here are a few affirmations to get you started:

  • I love and approve of myself
  • I matter and what I have to offer this world also matters
  • I breathe in calmness and breathe out nervousness
  • I am aligned with the energy of abundance
  • I play a big role in my own career success
  • I choose to fully participate in my day
  • I let go of worries that drain my energy

Feel free to work with these or find others you connect with better. You may wish to craft your own positive affirmations.

Write out a few of these and place the index card or PostIt note where you will see it to read aloud first thing in the morning each day. Write out another index card in order to carry it with you in order to read out loud a few times each day. Stick with this process for at least sixty to ninety days. At the very least, you will feel better each day when you start your day.

Do you have a personal favorite positive affirmation? Place it in the comments.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive coach who resides in Stamford,CT.

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Create a Mindset Renewal for Mindset Success

Are you interested in going places you have not been to before in your mindset, your attitude and your belief system? A mindset renewal, if you will. If you are ready, let’s do it and go there. Let’s develop a way to stay in the mindset you want and need to succeed.

Let’s discuss some of the foundation and history of your mindset before we begin. Our minds are programmed to think negative thoughts. The majority of us, beginning at age five, heard “No” or “Don’t do that” more often than any positive statements by a large margin. Some examples: “Don’t cross the street”, “Don’t touch that, you will break it”, “Don’t eat that until later”, or “Don’t wear that now, we are going to visit…

These negative statements were constantly stated to us by a factor of eight or nine times vs. any positive feedback or positive statements we heard from anyone – ever. Every single day, for many years, negative statements outnumbered the positive statements. During our time in school this pattern continued, “No Talking”, “No loitering here”, “No Parking Here”, or “No loud music allowed”.

There are multiple purposes for the utilization of positive affirmations. One of these is to overcome the negative programming instilled in our minds for years. This will take persistent and consistent work. Positive affirmations provide a pep talk to each of us whenever we need it. By taking the time to plan ahead and create a few positive affirmation cards, and carrying these with us or placing them in strategic locations we will always have a positive affirmation to read aloud. This is our self talk pep talk. You might place these on your iPhone or other electronic device as well.

Here are a few options for you when it comes to positive affirmations. If you feel you are not ready to write your own positive affirmations, think of a few names of people you find inspiring and utilize their quotes for your positive affirmations.

An example would be a quote from Jim Rohn, “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”

Now you rewrite this quote to become your positive affirmation, “I am living my happiness every single moment of every single day.”

Another example might be this quote from Orison Swett Marden, “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. seize common occasions and make them great.”

You might rewrite this quote to become your positive affirmation, “I will find opportunities in everything I experience throughout the day today, and every day.”

My suggestion is to create a few dozen of these positive affirmations in your first month of practicing this mindset renewal. Read these aloud or to yourself, often throughout the day. You will feel better about your day and your approach to your day as more time is invested in this practice.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and executive coach who resides in Stamford, CT.