I'm Good Enough, Smart Enough, And Gosh Darn It...

What are affirmations?

Affirmations, as we are referring to them here, are statements of the possible positive present. Yes, fears, doubts, and imperfections may also exist, but when declaring an affirmation, you are choosing the positive perspective. Since history shows us that “where attention goes, energy flows, and results show”, it seems that if you focus on the positive, the positive expands. However, if you focus on the negative, that will expand as well. For this reason, positive affirmations are a popular tool in the personal development industry. Need I remind you that I am good enough, smart enough, pretty enough and gosh darn it, people like me?

How do affirmations work?

You might question the usefulness of these positive statements about yourself and your life situation. It may feel a bit foolish to look yourself in the mirror and proclaim all the great aspects of you. However, if you were to stare into the mirror every morning and repeat “I suck, I’m a failure, everyone hates me, nothing good will ever happen to me,” I imagine life would seem quite bleak and not worth the effort. And this is actually what we do to ourselves more often than not.

Most of us have a continual, internal dialogue pointing out our faults, beating us up for the smallest mistakes, and reminding us of the possible disasters in our path. So, we need to create some positive voices to counteract the negative ones and build confidence and faith. That is the point of using affirmations on a regular basis. You need to put energy into manufacturing these positive voices until they drown out the negative ones and become integrated into your natural state of being.

What scientific evidence is there to support this?

First, let’s look to the neuroscience behind the effects of positive affirmations. The flow of our thinking actually connects cells and neurons inside the brain. Any thought that is repeated, creates a hard wired connection or neuropathway. So, if you continually associate work with failure, that connection is actually part of the physical make up of your brain. Unfortunately, you can’t simply say “Work does not mean failure” and expect to break that connection. But, if you were to focus on how work leads to success, you will be building new, more positive neuropathways inside your brain and essentially reprogramming yourself for success.

Next, let’s look at the biochemical effects of positive affirmations. Studies indicate that expressing positive affirmations before going into a stressful situation actually lowers the level of Cortisol released into your blood stream. Cortisol is a hormone the body releases during stressful events which can lead to cognitive impairments and increased risk for physical disease. So, saying positive affirmations on a regular basis can improve brain functioning and be stress-reducing and health enhancing all at the same time.

How can I use affirmations effectively?

First, it’s important to find affirmations that resonate with what you’d love to create in your life. You can do this by Googling affirmations, seeing what’s out there, and choosing the ones that seem to fit your needs best. Another way is to list all the negative statements that fly around in your mind, and then create a positive affirmation for each to battle it out and conquer the negative ones.

In order to quickly create strong wiring inside your brain to support the positive outlooks and outcomes you are going for, it can useful to interact with your affirmations as many ways possible. Write them, read them, say them out loud, record them and listen to them, stand and pound your heart as your proclaim them. Find ways to incorporate all of your senses into the implanting of this desired condition or outcome. Make the affirmations a full body, mind, spirit experience.

Affirmations are an easy way to make powerful, positive changes in your life, but to succeed you need persistence. Deliberate meditation and repetition are key here. We are nurturing fledgling neuropathways. They need our consistent attention. Post the affirmations on your bathroom mirror and recite after you brush your teeth morning and night. Create a daily check in where you give yourself a gold star for each time you recite the affirmations. Be creative, have fun, find ways to bring your affirmations into your daily life, and soon you will naturally think about how awesome you are and that all your desires are just around the corner.