Guidelines
Once you have decided on the change you want, writing it out is very important. Every affirmation will be only one sentence long. Not a paragraph. Just one sentence.
- When you write them out, it’s Personal. If somebody else was to read your affirmations, they would say it sounds selfish. You see, no one can affirm for you. Only you can affirm for you. You will use “I am” or “I have.” It is Personal.
- The second step is Positive. You want to create the picture you are moving toward. We can just as easily affirm for the negative – “I feel lousy today,” or “I hate my life,” but these don’t help us grow and change. In fact, they keep us stuck in a rut. You want to create an idea that your mind demands to find. It’s irresistible.
- Present Tense. Simply, it means all of your goals are written as though you already are where you want to be. You already have what it is you’re seeking. We are creating a gap between what was and what we want, drawing a picture of what we want that causes the Creative Subconscious to release energy to go after it. It’s the future, but in the present tense.
- Achievement. Sometimes people say, “I can be a good person.” “I can” or “I will.” “I can” is only speaking of your potential, not of the result. You already have the potential, so there is no energy being released to help you change. Do you see the difference? You’re speaking of the potential inside, but not the result you want. When you say “I have, I am, it is” and look around and it’s not – then you have a problem. You are supposed to. This puts the Creative Subconscious to work, solving the problem.
- No Comparisons. Comparing yourself, being better than or greater than someone else, is not at all going to help you be successful. Observe others. Use others as a model. Take their attributes and assimilate those into yourself as you’d like to have them. You’re building a better you, not someone else.
- Action Words. Real life is moving pictures, not paintings on a wall. Action words create action pictures, and create a magnetic draw for your creative subconscious to go after. You put in words like, “I quickly, I fluidly, I aggressively,” because you want your pictures to move.
- Emotion Words. The power comes in the emotion. So you put the appropriate emotion. “It makes me feel proud to be…” “I feel enthusiastic about…” The more positive emotion, the more engaging the picture and the faster the change.
- Accuracy. “I’m going to lose some weight.” This won’t work. Too wishy-washy. You need to be explicit. “I am walking two miles a day, twice a day, to reach my ideal weight of 160 pounds.” You may find you have a challenge forcing yourself to be clear. Why do you suppose people would have difficulty being clear? It makes you accountable. If you aren’t getting a clear picture, either you haven’t spent enough time to focus, or you’re dodging accountability.
- Balance is very important. You want to affirm in all areas of your life. Once you discover the power of affirmations, there is a good chance you are going to run obsessively with this process. You are going to drive yourself like you’ve never been driven before. But while you are being driven, you will borrow time and energy from other areas of your life. You want to create a whole person, so you experience as much of life as possible for you.
- Keep your goals and affirmations Realistic. Now what do we mean by that? Well, you can’t take yourself past what you can imagine yourself doing. If you can’t see it, you won’t do it. You want to be able to fully see yourself in the new picture. And then as you start approaching your goal, you re-set and go past it.
- You want to keep your affirmations Confidential. If you tell somebody you’re going to make a change, it becomes a have-to-goal, because you know someone is watching and waiting for you to fail. When this happens, you are forcing yourself into change and you work against yourself. You don’t need to be pushed or forced into change. You want to grow into it. Share your affirmations only with those people who you know will support the work you are doing to make a better you.
Remember, the number of affirmations you create is up to you. You know the changes you want to make, and how fast you want to make them.
Application Questions
Download the interactive PDF and save to your hard drive. Then, take time to reflect on the Application Questions and answer them in relation to the concepts presented apply to your own life.
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What Would It Look Like?
If you are having a challenge with defining a replacement picture, try asking yourself, “What would it look like if I didn’t have this problem?” What would the situation look like, if it was fixed? Let’s say you are scheduled to stand up in front of a meeting full of people and give a speech. At the mere thought of this, your hands are shaking, you are perspiring and about to hyperventilate.
Stop right there. What are you thinking about? “I am panicked about standing up and talking in front of other people!” Okay, what would it look like if you didn’t have this problem? “I would be calm, relaxed and confident about what I have to say.” Now, take out the “would be” and replace it with “am” – “I am calm, relaxed and confident about what I have to say.” And what picture does this create of you? Hands steady, breathing normal, maybe even a smile on your face as you say, “Good morning” to start your presentation.
This replacement picture has allowed you to control your self-talk, calm the chaos that is threatening to overwhelm your fears, and present yourself to the world with confidence. And the best part? You are in charge of the situation.
Affirmation Workshop
Download the interactive PDF for the Affirmation Workshop. Your facilitator will guide you through the process of writing effective affirmations.
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