Positive Power of Affirmations

Positive Power of Affirmations
By John-Robert Coleman, MPA

An affirmation is a positive statement recited repeatedly out loud or internally to your self in order to produce a desired result. Moreover, it is a life giving statement chosen intentionally to replace outworn, negative ideas or beliefs that no longer work for you. The objective is to create a change within your self and the outcome of your efforts will show up as a shift in attitude or perception.

Any form of positive change resides in our conscious choice of thoughts. If you are unhappy with your condition, you can simply change your mind about it. Every second of the day you are continually making upteem unconscious and conscious choices. Choice is akin to light switch of the mind. You can flip your thoughts to On or Off at will. Yes you do have the conscious power to transform darkness into light or fear into love instantly! Though what I have experienced is often to the contrary. To truly have a positive outcome and rid any long standing habit, your affirmations need to be repeated frequently and usually over extended periods of time. It takes 21-30 days to change or acquire a new habit.

Writing your own affirmations is easier than you think. A simple way to remember how to write effective affirmations is to think the 3P’s formula They must be Personal, Precise and in Present Tense which I will cover later in Part 2 article. "How to Choose Gentle Thoughts".For now it is helpful to simply think about the end result you want to achieve. Especially look to the feeling you want your affirmation to trigger within you and word your affirmation accordingly. For example, if you feel anxious about an upcoming audition, you might want to create an affirmation that states: I feel calm, confident and centered. State this affirmation over and over until you really do start to feel calm, confident and centered.

Here is a common problem for most beginners when repeating their respective affirmation. Your mind will rebel and keep returning to the reasons why you should be fearful and will think this is all bunk and this process will not work for you. At first, know this is a natural response and that you will be engaged in a tug-of-war with your mind. You will keep saying how confident and calm you feel BUT your ego keeps ranting and raving: “You are so full of it; you know you are really scared, you know you will not follow through etc…

Yes this method will be foreign to you because it will feel like a lie every time you recite your affirmation. You’ll probably feel progressively more anxious as you keep reciting it. One positive solution is to turn your affirmation into a statement of conscious choice. Rather than saying, “I am calm, confident and centered,” you might say: “I choose to feel calm, confident and centered right now.” This helps bypass or trick the egos objections because you are not denying your fearful emotions, instead you are simply acknowledging that you choose to feel differently.

Also there is still a third option available to you!
This is the gradual,warm-up approach of transformation rather than stating the affirmation as a flat fact. Example: “With every passing moment, I feel calm and reassured" or "I am willing to feel calm, confident and centered now”
Whatever thought you choose, you must tune into the feelings of what you’d ideally like to achieve.
Like a consummate actor you can pretend “as if” your affirmation is already true for you. This will impact a positive effect on your state of mind. It will reinforce in you a vision of an outcome that can transform darkness into light, fear into love through the use of the positive power of affirmations, and of course, always breathe into your new found idea.
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