Affirmations

Another technique of Mind Power is that of affirmations. Affirmations are statements that you say either out loud or quietly to yourself. You affirm to yourself whatever it is you want to happen. For example, if you have an important interview coming up, you could affirm to yourself, “A great interview,” and you would repeat this statement over and over again for several minutes. Or, let’s say you’re recovering from a leg injury, you could repeatedly say to yourself, “I have strong and healthy legs.”

Why do affirmations work? They work because whatever you verbally repeat to yourself will influence your thoughts. Say to yourself, “A great interview,” and you will automatically begin thinking about your upcoming interview as “a great interview.” Repeat to yourself, “ I have strong and healthy legs,” and your mind will begin imagining strong and healthy legs. And what you focus your mind on, you attract, so begin focusing on whatever it is you want.

Now let me give you three simple rules to remember when using affirmations:

1. Always affirm in the positive. Make your affirmation a positive statement. Avoid asking yourself, “What happens if it’s a terrible interview?” or saying to yourself, “I’m so nervous.” These statements focus on what you don’t want to occur. If you want to be confident, use that word in your affirmation. If you want to be dynamic, use that word. Use the words that reflect what you want to happen. Be specific.
2. Make your affirmation short and simple. Use a phrase or at maximum one sentence. Your affirmation should be like a mantra that you can repeat over and over again without even thinking about it. Don’t ramble on.
3. Don’t force yourself to believe it, just say it. All you have to do is repeat it over and over again and the affirmation will quite naturally have an effect. After all, you don’t force yourself to believe that the medication your doctor has given you will work. You just take the prescribed dosage and assume it will. So too with affirmations; just repeating the statement many times will cause it to work for you.

Affirmations are simple, easy to use and very powerful. Many professional athletes use them to perform well on the field. Successful business people use them to close deals and run their businesses. Artists use them to be creative and come up with innovative ideas. You can use them too, in any area of your life. Now repeat after me, “I am successful, confident and achieve my goals. I am successful, confident and achieve my goals. I am successful, confident and achieve my goals.”