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Original discussion thread: http://fastseduction.com/discussion/fs?action=9&boardid=2&read=99559&fid=23
Affirmations have a negative press on forums like this ... probably because tons of people did them wrong...
I did them wrong when I first did them too...
Then a good friend set me straight about 4 months ago by introducing me to the idea of an emotional yes and emotional no...
Most of the stuff out there written on affirmations is, in my opinion, incomplete. It's far too easy to see affirmations as a magic pill, any such attitude in self-development is begging failure. Teaching someone about affirmations is like giving a chainsaw to a lumberjack; you still need to chop down the trees but you're going to get a lot more wood than the guys with axes.
The mistake made by many people who learn of affirmations is to think that by effortlessly repeating a statement over and over it will magically transmute into their life. That is far from how affirmations actually work. If this used to be your idea of affirmations, ditch it now, and start again with this article.
Whenever you think of something which you habitually do, for example clean your dishes right after eating, or showering every morning, you will find that you either associate the action itself with a pleasant feeling, or the lack of the action is associated with a feeling of discomfort or disgust. So for example if you shower daily habitually then either you enjoy the nice warm shower, or you are disgusted by yourself if you go unshowered.
Affirmations work, in one way, by creating and enforcing these feelings of pleasure/comfort or disgust/discomfort. The important part is activating that kind of feeling while performing the affirmations.
For example someone who was quitting smoking might imprint the affirmation "I hate the taste of cigarettes". They would need to heavily associate a feeling of disgust with their affirmation. The goal being that this feeling grows into something which will prevent them from wanting a cigarette. As they write and say to themselves the new belief they will think of all the things that disgust them about cigarettes - the foul taste of the 30th cigarette of the day, the taste of burning mucus in the morning, the sensation of pain of their searing lips, and so on.
Another tact for quitting smoking would be to use the affirmation "I am a non-smoker" and associate with that a great feeling of pleasure. A feeling of their lungs opening up freely to fresh mountainous air, a feeling of pleasure associated with an influx of money, a feeling of happiness that they were strong enough to give up a habit which tortures so many others.
The Method
I use affirmations. This is my method which I have found to be very useful. First of all you must clear your mind and relax - ideally the mind should be in an alpha state. That's the kind of state the mind is in when you first get out of bed in the morning, so that is actually a great time to do affirmations.
There are some simple rules which can be followed to increase the effectiveness of affirmations. The more of them you follow, and the better you follow them, the more effective your affirmation practice will be.
1. Repeat each affirmation for a good length of time(at least two minutes, about 25+ repetitions). Write them slowly and neatly and think of the positive implications of what you are writing.
2. Write down each affirmation as well as speaking it aloud. Use your good confident voice.
3. Associate a strong feeling of either comfort/desire or discomfort/disgust with each affirmation as required. Conjure this feeling as strongly as possible. Allow your imagination to go wild.
4. Perform affirmations when the mind is in a more alpha state. That means right after waking up, right before going to sleep, or after a session of deep meditation. Binaural beats are also a useful way to enter such a state.
5. Done right you should love your affirmation session. The people who are most successful with affirmations really love doing them, and would not miss their affirmation session for the world. If you don't love your session, you haven't yet managed to conjure that pleasurable feeling.
6. Write affirmations in the first person and present-tense. So if you want to become a man of action then your affirmation should be - "I am a man of action" and to think about how you love to get things done. Another good affirmation to support this belief would be - "I hate procrastinating" and think about how revolting you find putting things off.
7. Perform affirmations regularly - about once a day.
8. Really believe that affirmations work. If you don't believe they work, try more plausible affirmations until they do work, then lead up to more outrageous ones. The truth is, they do work, and some of the effects on reality can be startling.
9. Make your affirmation session as ritualistic as possible - the subconscious mind thrives on symbolism and ritualism. For example, dim the lights and light a candle - things like that. Anything which makes the atmosphere moody is good.
10. Use short and punchy affirmations which emotionally effect you strongly. "I am in great shape." tends to be more effective that "I go down the gym twice a week, I love my work-out, I have lost lots of weight and I now have an athletic and attractive body which I'm proud of (etc.)"
A great place to start with affirmations is a very basic "I love myself" or equally "I feel great about myself". Allow your body to fill up with a great sense of self-worth and self-admiration as you accept everything about yourself as it is, as it has been, and as it will ever be.
Let's take another example, say that you wanted to become someone who consistently took action. You may use an affirmation along the lines of, "I am a man (or woman) or action." Now, as you write and say this affirmation, images of yourself stepping up and acting where others would procrastinate should enter your mind.
You should feel what it's like to be someone who's known for taking action, feel what it's like to think of yourself as someone who gets things done.
When an opportunity comes your way you get on the phone, or get out the office, or do whatever you need to do but it definitely means getting off your arse and doing something and you feel great knowing that you are a person who does that. You should be getting a proud and comfortable feeling from your affirmation.
When you think of procrastination the feeling you get should be one of discomfort, and to some extent disgust. Imagine something you would never dream of doing, for example imagine going to the toilet and walking straight out the door without washing your hands. What feeling do you get when you think about your germ-ridden hands? That is the feeling you should associate with things you want to remove from your life - such as, in this case, procrastination.
This is how habits are created, and this is one of the most powerful ways in which affirmations can work for you.
The power of the mind can not be over-estimated. Napoleon Hill didn't call them as such, but affirmations are the bread and butter of his most famous book. To gain a greater understanding of affirmations and how this form of exercise can influence reality I suggest reading it; on top of that it's probably the greatest self-development book ever written. It's called Think and Grow Rich.
Affirmations used correctly are one of the most powerful self-development technique I've ever come across - the catch being that only a very small number of people who use them actually understand how to use them correctly. In effect, most people who try affirmations write them off as being unhelpful mainly because they did not do them right.
Sit down at a desk, get a pad and pen, and write a page of your affirmation while repeating it either in your head or out loud to yourself. As you do so, imagine the feeling of pleasure (or disgust) with the habit you are creating (or breaking).
