Some people believe that affirmations can help us strengthen our self-esteem. Others think that they are just an empty repetition of phrases heard earlier. What exactly are affirmations, what are they about, and how to use them?
Let’s start by explaining the term: affirmation. This word comes from the Latin word “affirmatio,” which translates as confirmation of something or agreement to something. Specialists in the field of psychology have dealt with this issue over the years, but the person responsible for popularizing affirmations in the 1980s is psychologist Claude Steele.
An affirmation is usually a simple phrase that is meant to remind a person of what their deep desires are, and through affirmation, can lead to the acceleration of their realization. To some, it seems quite absurd, because every person should know his or her dreams perfectly well, so what would he or she achieve by saying a particular maxim out loud? However, according to specialists, such a procedure can genuinely change a lot in life.
Because it so happens that we want something so much, but often we ourselves do not know exactly what this desire is, we can not name it. Are we talking about a new car, or maybe an apartment? Or maybe our dreams concern more aspects of the emotional sphere? This is the problem of many people who lack something in their lives, and they are not able to specify what deficiencies they have. If you don’t know exactly what you are striving for, you will not be able to achieve it.
And at this point comes the explanation of what role affirmations play in a person’s life. By creating them, a person finally becomes one hundred percent aware of what they want to pursue. The affirmations themselves have the effect of making the realization of the desires closer to being achieved. Once an affirmation has been created, it should be repeated regularly either out loud or in thought. This does not mean thinking about it obsessively, but simply repeating the affirmation regularly, for example every morning at home in front of the mirror.
What is the purpose of affirmations? It is primarily to come to terms with your own self. Usually affirmations created by people refer to finding a better and better paid job, buying a dream apartment or for example a dream foreign trip. But equally well, an affirmation can affect how a person perceives himself or herself. For example, someone who is constantly struggling with complexes concerning his or her appearance, can finally get rid of them by regularly repeating the appropriate affirmation.
Once we have determined what our desires are, we can easily construct the very sentence that will be our affirmation. What should we pay attention to when creating it? First of all, the affirmation should not contain words in the future tense (e.g. “I will”, “I will achieve”), it should be set in the present tense (e.g. “I do”, “I will”).
Keep in mind that you can use both positive and negative affirmations, depending on whether your affirmations refer to a desired state or the opposite. Positive affirmations include those relating to the states you want to achieve. Negative ones refer to those you want to avoid, which are unfavorable
Let us use an example. A positive affirmation would be “I’m having a good day”, and a negative one would be “I think something bad is going to happen to me today”. Unfortunately people tend to say these negative thoughts more often instead of focusing on the positive. It is worth remembering that affirmations are affirmations that you put into your subconscious. So by consciously thinking and speaking, you are also consciously creating your own life.
