Affirmations are a powerful way to change negative programming, combat complaining, and heal us body and soul!

Read my latest article on affirmations! Using Affirmations

I need to make affirmations a daily part of my morning routine...........and then again at night before I drift off wouldn't hurt....

I agree that affirmations are very helpful for a lot of people. However, I found that they didn't produce the results I wanted because of a lot of subconscious beliefs that I needed to change. Although I still do some affirmations I've found it really really helpful to start reprogramming by underlying beliefs as well.

Have you seen Louise Hay's new movie "You Can Heal Your Life?" She really believes in affirmations and explains how to use them to change your life.

I wrote a review of this movie on my blog which you can find here

She has an affirmation kit also that I've been using. I has a booklet explaining about affirmations and how to use them and affirmation cards and such.

This is a great movie if you believe in affirmations and if you don't, it might change your mine.

I wrote a letter of acceptance to myself from a made-up editor and pinned it up on my bulletin board over a year ago. I did it to encourage myself to send out book manuscripts and short stories. It's still there over my workstation. I somewhat stopped sending out book manuscripts, however, shortly after posting it on my bulletin board I got accepted to write for Bellaonline and have since gotten a short story published. I strongly believe in self-affirmations.

I have found that if the affirmation isn't believable, then it won't work for me.

I've worked with affirmations to help undue old beliefs too, and where it can be tricky getting to the core, I have found success.

I also like to use the Emotional Freedom Technique (the tapping) with my affirmations. That is extraordinarly helpful.

Deb, what a fabulous idea!

I'm thinking about creating a job description for myself LOL!

Wanted, one talented writer!

Deanna, I've used EFT also with great success. I do my affirmations when I tap tho, instead of phrasing it in the (to me) negative way they have you do it.

I've watched Louise Hay's movie on affirmations too and she uses mostly the idea that we all need to love ourselves and others more.

Does anyone know how quickly affirmations work to change your subconscious mind?

I have a lot of negative self talk going on inside my head and I have to work constantly at reprogramming that tape!

Why is the tapping so much more effective than the affirmations alone?

Lori

Hi Lori,

I've had some affirmations work really fast -- others are still working I think it depends on what you are working on and how deeply rooted it is.

EFT works on the premise that we have energetic blocks. Saying what bugs us while tapping a specific point reverses the polarity of that energy flow, clearing the block.

I've never used the EFT while saying affirmations, I've just used it the traditional way.

I think the EFT works faster because it is physically removing an energetic block, where the affirmations are putting down new neural pathways in the brain.

But then again, I think it depends on what you are working on. I've had affirmations work to clear some things that the EFT didn't. :::shrug:::

If you figure it takes 21 days to break a habit and create a new one, then it would take at least 21 days or more to change your thoughts from negative to positive, I would think. Many of us work for years on negative self-talk and it's hard to change it sometimes.

I think one very important thing about affirmations is persistence. Even if you don't see the result as soon as you'd like, don't give up on it.

I love this idea! Sometimes I write little bios that I imagine will appear on the back cover of the self-help books I'll write in the future.

I definitely agree with this. In November 2007, I joined 43 Things and listed all of my goals.

At first I had over 25. I'd go back regularly to read the goals and say affirmations. Now a year later I'm down to 14 goals because most of them just didn't FEEL good when I went to affirm them. If the goal/affirmation doesn't feel good, I believe that it's my inner voice telling me that either the goal is not right for me, or that it's just not the time to be thinking about it.

That is an excellent point, Leah - sometimes we make goals that just aren't right for us. It's a very wise idea to review your goals and to see how they line up with your priorities, and think if they really are a goal we want to dedicate time to!

Working on the goal should feel just as good as meeting the goal would. For example, after many years of wanting one I finally bought myself a guitar last October. I love practicing it! I love playing it even though I'm not good yet. So even my "working to get better" time makes me happy

Affirmations can do wonders for you =)

I think you can take an affirmation that might feel false to you and turn it into something you can believe. You may not believe "I'm thin and rich" but you might believe "I eat healthy foods" and "I get lots of ideas to make money."

Whatever your goal is, you can break it down to smaller points that you CAN believe. Every positive step is another step toward achieving your goal.

I totally agree Healthy Mom! If an affirmation isn't believable... what can we do to make it so?

I think an affirmation works well if you can feel it, rather than just think about it or parrot the words. Because it's the feeling element that has the attraction power - at least, that's when it's worked best for me.

Hi Allan,

I totally agree! Every morning when I do my affirmations I feel so much better! And if I notice that I don't feel better, I know it's time to change my affirmation a bit.

One example I have of adjusting the wording of an affirmation to make it feel good...
Almost a year ago, I was getting really tired of being alone and really wanted to be in love.
I tried an affirmation
"I have a beautiful partner who loves me"
it seemed soooo impossible for me that it hurt to say it. So, I adjusted to
"I am lovable."
That one felt pretty good, I am a good person and lots of people like me so I stuck with affirmations of that vein.
About 6 months ago I met a really nice guy... Today he tells me he loves me everytime I talk to him and showers me with statements of gratitude and appreciation.
Ding ding
I LOVE AFFIRMATIONS

That is awesome Joan! That really is wonderful!

I agree completely - you need an affirmation you can bring yourself to believe in. Sometimes you can take baby steps along the path, encouraging yourself.

I might not be able to believe "I can run a marathon" but I can believe "I can go for short walks every day".

I Love the I am lovable. I use I love life and life loves me back. Thats one of my favorites to start the day with.

Hi I realise I'm a bit late to enter this conversation but maybe it'll be useful anyway. I don't believe affirmations work very effectively while you've got negative self talk going on. The reason some affirmations work very quickly is because you absolutely believe them - and it's the belief that brings them into reality. When you've got negative self talk going on it completely undermines the belief that you're trying to establish with the affirmations. Using EFT straightens out the energy blocks that are caused by the negative self talk and the things that have happened to you in the past to build that negative belief. Then, once you're clear of the blocks the affirmations can take hold. I love to start each day with tapping while saying gratitude statements such as 'I'm grateful for my home and family'; 'I'm grateful for my health and abundance'. That gets me into a wonderfully positive frame of mind and I can follow up with the affirmations that are becoming true for me. Penny

I definitely agree that negative self talk can affect very strongly how we feel about ourselves! I would definitely still keep saying affirmations though. I have heard from many friends that at first they wouldn't really believe the affirmations - but the more they say them, the more they become a daily habit, the more they seem to become believable. It's like eating liver every day. At first you might really hate it - but after a few weeks it's likely you at least sort of tolerate it

I have tried it a few times in my life and it does not work for me even when I truly believe it will.