6 Ways to Use Affirmations Effectively to Change Your Life

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Last Updated on March 6, 2023 by H H

We all need to be
supported emotionally. Unfortunately, we don’t always find the healthy support
we need in our daily lives. When it comes to feeling good about yourself, it is
a good idea to learn how to use affirmations.

Instead of waiting for other people to be supportive, you can create ideas you tell yourself that make you feel better. In addition to being a healthy habit, affirmations encourage you to seek out connections with people who are going to make a positive impact on your life.

What
are Affirmations?

Affirmations can be
really powerful, and they are also easy to use. When you begin to form thoughts
and repeat similar things again and again, you start believing in the ideas.
Many people use this in a negative way without even knowing it, but these
affirmations can also be used for good.

For example, if you
keep telling your mind emphatically – “I am confident” – repeatedly, you will
get the message. From here, the wheels of the mind will be set into motion so
that you definitely become more confident. This is a basic affirmation, and you
can learn to make up your own set of custom affirmations that work for you.

The strength of
words is amazing, and everything in our lives is described by them. If we can
create our own narrative, and make sure that we are using our mind to be
positive, we will be in a much better position.

Using a short,
powerful and positive statement to influence our behaviors and habits is the
basis of an affirmation. We can use these affirmations to create our thinking
patterns, and repel negative thoughts.

When using affirmations, there are a few things to keep
in mind:

Role of
Daily Affirmations in Everyone’s Life

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” ― Lao Tzu

We must accept that
our ideas create our actions and our actions become our reality. If we
continually immerse ourselves with negative thought forms,
we will take steps in real life to self sabotage, and create a painful reality.

Positive
affirmations can help take your world from negative to positive in just a few
minutes. They also give you a positive base in your mental reality to work
from. Even if their effects are mild to begin with, over time, using
affirmations will help you grow a more positive existence.

Benefits
of Daily Affirmations

Examples of Affirmation

Do
Affirmations Work?

At their most basic level, affirmations are totally effective. You will be able to tell yourself positive ideas, and they will impact the mind. It is also a good idea to consider what you are trying to accomplish with the affirmations, and how realistic your goals are.

Let’s say that you
want to feel better about your body. You may have been told that you are overweight,
too thin, too tall, too short, or have undesirable features. Instead of
focusing on what you were told, you have to start creating your own ideas.

Affirmations do this
by putting your inner voice into action. Instead of listening to memory
repeating a negative idea, you start creating your own positive ideas. You can
tell yourself that you are beautiful, and that your ideas matter most.

“The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~Buddha

Everything in our
lives is a reflection of what we think and feel. We create our own lives with
our emotions and feelings, and all this adds up to how we view ourselves.

By taking control over the inner voice, we no stop being the victim of what others say about us, and the fault finding part of our mind that latches on to anything negative, and repeats it on an unending loop.

Positive
affirmations stop this cycle of negative thoughts, and allow you to feel better
about your life. When a person feels bad, they are unlikely to make positive
life choices. Learning how to use affirmations is a key part of a positive
outlook, and a great self image.

Here are some things
that affirmations can be used to do, and manifest positive change in our lives.

Enhance
Self-Esteem

One of the most
important things in life is cultivating a positive mental self-portrait that
includes realistic confidence and great self-esteem. Successful people have
self-esteem and affirmations can be very useful for boosting your self-esteem.

We may not have been
raised by a positive family, or we may have dealt with a social situation that
left us feeling bad about who we are. This isn’t going to lead to a happy life,
and we need to be supportive of ourselves.

Many negative
behaviors start with unfair views about who we are, and all this comes right
back to little to no self esteem. We can use affirmations to address these bad
feelings, and repair the damage that the world has done to us.

Sleep
Better with an Affirmation

Our busy lives can
make our minds feel restless, and this can lead to a bad sleep situation.
Before sleeping our subconscious mind has lots of thoughts about our job,
family, and many other things. All of this can result in a poor quality of
sleep and anxiety.

By using
affirmations you can reprogram your mind. Practicing positive
affirmations before sleeping helps you to relax, so you can have quality sleep
which brings positive change in your life. A lack of sleep can also lead to
depression, even though your life is actually fine.

Deal with
Negative Thoughts

You don’t have to
live a life that is a result of negative thoughts that play over and over in
your mind.

It’s true that
negative memories can hold you back, and prevent you from living a happy life.
By using affirmations you can replace negative thoughts to positive one, and
start using your inner voice for positive change.

Affirmations are
like a blast of fresh air which your mind needs to stay fresh.

If you’re facing
issues in your life, or are the victim (yes – victim, the fault finding mind is
abusive and won’t listen to reason) of negative self-talk just write down the
thoughts that are bothering you. After you deal with how badly you have been
treated, find positive solutions which are the opposite of the negative
thoughts that are destroying your chances at happiness.

You can use
affirmations to let go of your negative beliefs. By using daily affirmations,
you will make your subconscious mind move in a positive direction, and adopt a
more realistic attitude about your self image.

Build
Positive Habits

Good habits create
better lives. Affirmations help you to build new positive habits and make your
mind ready for success. The mental state you are experiencing was constructed
by previous thoughts and actions. Affirmations will allow you to stop being
passive in how your reality is created.

Make sure the
affirmations you choose to create positively change at the most basic levels of
your mind, and also ensure that you aren’t taking action on the latent negative
thoughts you have in your mind. With daily work, and a good feel for your
emotional state, you will be able create affirmations that manifest real change
in your life. 

How to
Start Using Affirmations

Before starting, ask
yourself whether you truly need to get what you are seeking. If you
have doubts and you are not so sure that you need it, your questions may help
you find a better goal. You may want a new car, but you probably need to have
more peace in your personal life.

Many people are
distracted by material objects, or compulsive desires. If you want to use
affirmations as some sort of magic that will manifest a million dollar home, or
an attractive lust-object, you are going in the wrong direction.

Make sure that your
motives are positive, and you are seeking peaceful happiness. We have to be
grateful first, and then we can act to improve our physical conditions.

Steps to Follow:

1. Start in the morning as soon as you wake up and take deep breaths,
   think positively about your day.
2. Say your positive affirmation clearly and little loudly so your
   ears can hear your words.
3. Repeat the affirmations 2-4 times in a day and think about your
   goals.
4. When you are finished, take deep breaths, absorb the positive
   energy, and let go of any negative thoughts

Tips for
Writing an Effective Affirmation:

It can be a little
bit difficult to start writing affirmations if you have never done it before.
Here are some ideas to consider while writing affirmations. Make sure that you choose a meaningful idea, and be honest about
who you are.

Step 1:
Start with ‘I am…’

Starting your
affirmation with the words ‘I am’ makes it more powerful. It utilizes language
that gives your subconscious brain an order. When you say ‘I am’ your mind
receive it as an order that has a powerful creative influence.

Step 2:
Write in Present Tense

Compose and speak
your affirmation as it is happening right now. This encourages you to accept
that the affirmation is genuine at the present moment. For example, “I am
well-prepared and, and I can give an extraordinary introduction…” would
be an incredible affirmation to use if you feel anxious talking before a big
group of people.

Step 3:
Write About Things You Want to Change

In your affirmation
statement, write about areas of your life which you want to change. For
example, if you want to be more confident, write affirmations that allow you to
feel more confident about realistic things. You can list all the things you
need to work on, and then work on making them a reality in your life.

Step 4:
Make it Short

Always try to make
your affirmation statement very specific and brief. Never write a paragraph,
and confuse yourself with way too much information. Make your affirmation feel
natural so your mind can easily visualize the results.

Simply say “I am
eating healthy food” instead of saying “I generally pick healthy food over
shoddy and junk food since I’m aware of my wellbeing”

Step 5:
Be Realistic

You should always
use a realistic approach and base it on a practical evaluation of your life.
Imagine that you are not happy about your height, and you need to accept that
you won’t grow any more.

Instead of focusing
on what you view as a negative thing, focus on being positive about reality.
You could say “I am a great height and I love myself”. Some things just aren’t
going to change, and you need to find ways to love who you are!

Step 6:
Add Feeling Into the Affirmation

Affirmations will be
more valuable when you add a personal touch. You are talking to yourself, and
you will need to address how you actually feel about yourself, and your
situation.

For instance, if you
are worried about your new job and its responsibilities, you need to say “I am
ready to accept more challenges and excited to meet new people.”

A big part of
writing good affirmations is making sure that your view of the world is
realistic. If you are feeling nervous, you need to address those feelings in
the affirmation. There is no point in lying to yourself, especially if you are
working to make your life better!

Using
Affirmations to Change Your Life

We have to make many
decisions in our daily lives and the results of those actions aren’t going to
be under our control. Affirmations give us positive mental energy, and the
ability to deal with reality as it is.

Negative self-talk
matters a lot as it’s a reality of the human condition. The good news is that
you can take control over the inner voice, and make sure that it is working with
you to live a more positive life.

Research has shown
that around 80% of the 50,000 subconscious thoughts you
have in a day are negative ones. When you start thinking from your early age
about your weaknesses and repeating the negative memories as a reality, it
creates a negative impact on your personality.

For example, you
might have a inner voice that says: “I’m fat” – “I am not confident.”

Positive affirmation
plays a very important role to get rid of these negative thoughts. The power of
affirmations has been discussed in books, movies, and blogs, but you can start
using these powerful phrases all by yourself.

When you take
control of how you view yourself, negative influences have a much harder time
getting into your mind. While they may still exist in your environment,
destructive energy won’t be able to convince you that it is a part of your
life, or that you deserve to suffer.

Final Thoughts on Affirmations

Affirmations are one of the ways that we can
ensure that we are getting the support we need. It might seem strange to start
giving ourselves the boost we need, but when we learn to love ourselves,
amazing things are possible.

Real happiness isn’t rooted in getting more
stuff than other people. It all begins when you can be content with who you
are, and see that people who are the victims of negative energy will be far
better served by a person who has learned how to create peace in their own
life.

When you craft your own affirmations, be
honest with yourself about what has brought you contentment and joy. If you can
focus your mind on simple things in your life, and let go of negative feelings,
a wonderful present moment is all yours.

Affirmations can be a big part of finding that golden moment.

Finally, if you want a simple tool to record and recite these affirmations, then check out these 13 affirmations apps that help you create a positive mindset.