Affirmations

An affirmation is a statement or declaration of belief, and it can be positive or negative. You probably make several affirmations a day without realising it, and you may be influencing your own state of mind entirely unintentionally.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I can’t do this” or “I’m no good at that”? Those are negative affirmations! The more you repeat these statements to yourself, the more you internalise them. You create a barrier in your own mind because you come to genuinely believe what you have been telling yourself.

Now you’re aware of this, see if you can catch yourself next time you start to tell yourself something negative, and change it to something positive. You might already have positive affirmations that you use; “I know how to do that” or “I can do a really good job on this”, and I’ll give more examples of positive affirmations below.

Make your affirmations more effective by taking care over exactly what you say. It may sound obvious, but make sure your affirmation is about you! You can only control your own thoughts and behaviour, so your affirmation should include the words I or me.

Good Affirmation	Bad Affirmation
I am respected and valued at work.	My boss respects and values my work.

Your affirmation should be phrased using the present tense, and should not have any negative words in it. If you set your affirmation at some unspecified point in the future then you are telling yourself that you will not achieve it until that time comes – and that may as well be never! Instead use your affirmation to tell yourself that you want to start making changes now. You should avoid negative words for a similar reason; they have an association with negative feelings and thoughts that you don’t want to dwell on. The exception might be deeply held negative convictions – an affirmation which directly opposes these convictions may be effective even if it uses negative language.

Good Affirmation	Bad Affirmation
I can do this.	I’ll get the hang of this.
I am successful.	I will not fail.
I am calm and patient.	I am not angry or impatient.
I do not need to please others.	I need to hide my real thoughts and feelings in order to please others.

You should also reach a compromise between brevity and specificity. That is to say, you want your affirmation to be fairly short so that it has more impact while at the same time you may need to state a specific goal you’re aiming for.

Good Affirmation	Bad Affirmation
a) I am confident at work. b) I can express my thoughts and opinions clearly.	I can interact confidently with my work colleagues and my boss, and express my thoughts and opinions clearly.
I have £500 in my savings account.	I have money in my savings account.

Once you’ve decided on an affirmation to use – use it! Some people say to face yourself in the mirror, look yourself in the eyes and tell yourself the affirmation. Others suggest using it as a mantra or chant, or even turning it into a song.

I personally use the method of writing my affirmation down, coupled with visualisation. Writing my notes out was my favouite form of revision in school. There’s something about the physical process of writing that helps information sink in for me, and this works just as well for affirmations as for algebra! An added benefit of writing them down is that you can place them somewhere you will see them each day. This could be on your altar, or stuck to the kitchen fridge.

Visualisation means that I picture the affirmation as a reality in my mind. If I’m affirming that I am confident then I imagine myself being confident – I picture being open, out-going and self-assured in social situations, and try to associate all five physical senses with the image. I also think about feeling calm, relaxed and happy and try to infuse as much positive emotion into the image as possible.

Try any or all of these different methods and see which works best for you. You can use your affirmation when you feel you need it – perhaps before a big meeting in work – but you should make time to repeat it to yourself every day to really drive the message home! First thing in the morning or last thing at night would be the ideal time, making it a positive start to your day or the final thought your mind will dwell on before sleep.

Positive Affirmations

Elements

• Earth: I am strong, centered and know.
• Air: I am intelligent.
• Fire: I am powerful.
• Water: I am creative, I am intuitive.

Body & Health

• I love and accept my body.
• I deserve to feel good about myself.
• I eat healthily and take care of my body.

Energy & Motivation

• I am healthy, strong and energised.
• I am awake, alert and ready for whatever my day brings.
• I enjoy living a purposeful life.
• I am filled with creative energy and inspiration.

Abundance & Prosperity

• I am committed to manifesting my desires.
• I am open to whatever gifts the universe sends me.
• I deserve to be wealthy and prosperous.

Self-Worth & Confidence

• My wants and needs are important.
• I have the right to be myself.
• I accept myself completely.
• It is okay to not be perfect.

Friendships & Relationships

• I am open, warm and caring with those I love.
• I am ready for a loving, fulfilling relationship.
• I am friends with people who respect and support me.
• I can express my wants and needs clearly.