Affirmations: what is it and how do they work?

In our difficult world, we are often forced to give up our dreams and endure disappointment. Sometimes it even seems that there are practically no prospects ahead. At such moments, it is very important not to lose heart, not to abandon your goals and help yourself out of the crisis. One of the available techniques for changing one's life is affirmations. How to use them correctly and how they can help will be discussed in this article.

The term comes from the English word affirm, which, in turn, came from the Latin language. Affirmatio literally means "confirmation", "confidence in the certainty of a fact." In modern psychology, affirmations are successfully used to achieve various goals. Their main advantage over many other psychological techniques is their exceptional accessibility.

Affirmations are short statement phrases. You can compose them yourself or use ready-made ones. The definition of the topic of positive statements depends on the specific request of the person, those circumstances that he wants to change.

Remember how often in everyday life we ​​are out loud or in our thoughts exclaim unkind words. In negative situations, we used to say emotionally: “Horror!” or "What a nightmare!". And what is the result? Nothing good, actually. Thus, we practically program ourselves for the very “horror and nightmare”, allowing trouble to happen again and again in our lives.

And here is another very familiar and often used phrase, which the majority utters at all without thinking about it: "Wow!" Of course, this phrase does not have such a negative connotation, but still disassemble the meaning of these words. Guessed? The phrase says that we do not want anything for ourselves. But for yourself, on the contrary, a lot can and should be desired: health, prosperity, realization of talents, love, etc.

Our experiences, unconscious reactions and thoughts have a direct impact on the course of life. Negativity, heavy feelings for the most part deplete the psyche, and besides, they attract a similar negative energy. A man as if curses himself, again and again tuning in to the bad and seriously expecting troubles from each new situation or event.

But the ability to easily let go of bad things, switch to positive in time, confidence in positive changes, on the contrary, can work almost miracles. It is on this principle that affirmations work. They help to tune the thinking and perception of the world in a positive way, to obtain results in any field. Correctly written and, most importantly, correctly pronounced statements can bring simply magical changes to the life of every practitioner.

By practicing the repetition of affirmations, any realistic goals can be achieved:

• a person can develop his talents and abilities, succeed in learning a new business or specialty;
• you can significantly improve your well-being;
• a practitioner can help himself recover from illnesses, become more beautiful, slimmer, more attractive to others;
• practice will help to cope with psychological problems and complexes: fears, anxiety, apathy, depression, nervousness, self-doubt, etc .;
• attracting success in professional activities, building a career;
• a practitioner can get rid of loneliness, attract true love;
• getting rid of negative personality traits;
• strengthening the volitional sphere, the formation of motivation to achieve goals.

The worldview of each person is formed from early childhood. Due to the fact that few people are surrounded by absolutely ideal conditions, in adulthood we are overwhelmed with complexes, fears, stereotyped reactions. All this drives the consciousness into certain, very narrow, frameworks, from which, alas, it is difficult to free it.

Unfortunately, few people believe in the possibility of changing life for the better. After all, there are “not those” circumstances around, “not those” people. Only here circumstances, people and our personal problems for the most part we attract ourselves, more precisely, our psycho-emotional reactions to what is happening. Like reaches for like.

Affirmations can be divided into two types. General affirmations help to change the environment around and life in general, to look at the world with different eyes. They are inspirational phrases containing strong positive messages:

• "I am surrounded by very good, pleasant, positive people."
• “I am confidently moving towards my success.”
• “I get everything that I have in mind.”
• “I can find the right solution and act correctly in any situation”, etc.

The second type of positive statements involves a more specific topic. They are aimed at a specific area of ​​life, situation or problem.

Useful affirmations for health.

• “I am happy and healthy.”
• “My body is working properly.”
• "Every day my organs are renewed and become stronger."
• “My body is strong and healthy.”
• “I feel powerful streams of energy and health spilling over my body.”
• "I feel the energy and health emanating from every cell of my body."
• "The positive energy flowing through my body heals me."
• "My body is quickly recovering and improving every day."
• "I can and love to take care of my body."
• "I am free from suffering and disease."
• "I am always calm and feeling good."
• “I have a lot of energy and vitality.”

Here are the affirmations for overall body strengthening. This is an important moment in the cure of any disease, since all organs and systems are closely interconnected. To cure a specific disease, you can additionally make a positive statement regarding a specific patient organ. For example: “My kidneys are healthy and working properly,” “My vision improves every day,” “My joints are strong, healthy.”

A short list of affirmations for happiness and for the fulfillment of desires.

• "My life is beautiful and interesting."
• "Every day in my life more and more joy and prosperity."
• "I am grateful to the universe for my life."
• "The universe gives me everything I need."
• "I build my life myself."
• “I succeed in any endeavor.”
• "I am filled with fertile vital energy."

Examples of affirmations to attract love and improve relationships.

• "I love and love."
• "Love fills me stronger every day."
• "I am a wise, beautiful and desirable woman."
• "I am a strong, confident and beloved man."
• "I thank the universe for the great love that fills my life."
• "Every day I grow spiritually and improve."
• "I am worthy of love, care and respect."

Examples of affirmations for personality correction.

• "I am confident in myself and look at the world positively."
• "My willpower strengthens every day."
• "My positive qualities are developing and multiplying every day."
• “I am successfully working on myself.”
• "I am a purposeful, energetic, comprehensively developed person."
• "I am able to overcome any difficulties."
• “Every day I feel an emotional upsurge and spiritual growth.”

For starters, many use ready-made affirmations. At the first stage, you can start with this.

Before you start writing affirmations, you should know some rules. Above we have already touched on the importance of the meaning of each word uttered aloud or to oneself. Therefore, in a positive phrase, you need to pay attention to all the details. Indeed, with repeated repetition of these words will gain very powerful installation properties. Remember that we are writing a phrase for self-suggestion, programming ourselves for positive changes. Even misinterpreted interjections and prepositions can significantly weaken the effect of affirmation.

So, making positive statements for yourself, adhere to the following rules.

• In your phrase you cannot wish evil to others, demand punishment or revenge for something.
• The statement should concern you personally. It is you yourself who convince you of your well-being, that you work with your consciousness. For example, the affirmation “My bosses value and respect me” is false and will not work. For career growth, you must program yourself, let's say this: "I do my job well and correctly."
• The phrase must be positive. That is, what is stated in it has a positive color.
• Thought should be directed to what you desirerather than what you don’t like and what you want to get rid of. An example of a false affirmation: "Diseases leave my body, I stop feeling pain." In this case, a positive result should already be affirmed: "My body is healthy, I am full of energy."
• It is better to avoid the use of the word "can." Replace it with verbs that indicate a specific action. Instead of “I can make myself happy,” we use a slightly different phrase: “I become happier every day” or “I am happy and thankful to God for my life.”
• Do not claim “not”. It is negative and requires mention of something you don't like. And this contradicts the rule of positive content of the statement.
• Do not make too long sentences. Affirmation should be relatively short, easy to remember and as specific as possible. If you have a long phrase, it means that you have not decided on a goal and are trying to put several unresolved problems or wishes into one statement. Analyze your request and focus on what is most important to you at the moment. About this and make affirmation.
• The statement should concern the present, current moment. Phrases like “Next year I will have a lot of money” are not specific and do not contain the desired message.

Affirmations act on the practitioner's subconscious. Thus, they help to make the necessary changes in the way of life and in the personality of the person himself. But this can be achieved if you use this psychological method of self-help correctly.

• It is best to say the phrases out loud, clearly and confidently. This should be done at least 2 times a day, morning and evening. If you have the opportunity to retire during the day in a quiet place where no one will disturb you, it is permissible to practice affirmations more often. It’s quite difficult for some people to voice their statements in a voice, especially at the first stages of practice. In this case, affirmations can be pronounced mentally.
• Also, statement phrases can be read from a sheet and written on paper. Psychologists recommend trying to output words with both hands: both right and left. This will help activate and activate both hemispheres of the brain.
• Affirmations should be used regularly. Breaks of several days greatly weaken the effect of auto-suggestion and delay the result.
• When speaking affirmations, connect a visual image. Clearly imagine what is being said in the phrase. A clear and vivid picture of the changes that you are directing your efforts into should appear in your imagination. The phrase you utter during practice should be translated into reality for you.
• Do not go in cycles in constant expectation of result. After the affirmations session, gently release your desires and requests. Change will come into your life naturally.
• Spoken statements must be sincerely believed. Our rational thinking makes us skeptical of such phenomena, which greatly interferes with practice and personal growth. Try to push the inner "skeptic" to the second or even third plan. When repeating affirmations, sincerely trust the practice and free yourself from doubt.
• Sometimes it happens that a person made a statement that actually contrary to his true goals. This happens when a practitioner has not yet learned to listen to himself and draws requests from generally accepted norms and fashion trends. In this case, affirmation may either not work at all, or may result in somewhat unsatisfactory consequences.
• During the pronunciation of statements, you need to monitor your posture and facial expression. The phrases are positive, life-affirming in nature, so you need to pronounce them with a confident smile, a straight back and a raised chin. The physical condition and posture of the body are closely related to the subconscious, so if they resonate with repeated statements, the effect of the latter will be greatly weakened.
• One should not rely on affirmations alone, while completely inactive in real life. Agree, it’s stupid to wait for a salary increase or a transfer to a higher position if you do not care about work, do not fulfill your duties, often are late and quarrel with colleagues. Also, your body will not become slim if you overeat, are inactive and abuse bad habits. Affirmations are undoubtedly our allies, but their practice does not exempt from real actions aimed at achieving the goal.
• Do not contradict your affirmations in everyday life. Pronouncing positive phrases, we change our perception of the conditions surrounding us. Therefore, believing in affirmation during its pronunciation, do not destroy the new attitudes that started to line up with you.

For example, a girl works on her body and repeats the statement: "I become slim, beautiful, attractive to others and confident." During practice, she even manages to create a visual image of herself new. However, going for a walk or on the way to work, she again turns into a "gray mouse": stoop, hesitantly looks away, smiles with an awkward gait. As a result, during the next practice, she will have to start from scratch.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that, of course, the impact of affirmations on different people is by no means universal. Two different people, asking the same thing, may well get opposite results. There are many reasons for this: a vaguely worded request, lack of involvement in the process of speaking phrases, divergence of desires with real goals, excessive laziness and inaction in everyday life.

On sites and various forums you can find the stories of real people who practiced this method of self-hypnosis. And there are never any definite reviews. Affirmations helped someone, but someone abandoned them after several attempts, without waiting for signs of approaching their goal.

Well, a universal panacea for the soul and body does not exist. However, in any work on oneself there are basic and very important points: a clear goal setting, a positive attitude, regularity of classes, and involvement in practice.