“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” – Buddha
Affirmations are the specific, positive thoughts we say to ourselves, that help us make positive changes in our life. These positive affirmations leads us to good health, positive attitude, happiness and prosperity. So how do positive daily affirmations work on our subconscious mind ?
How does Affirmation work?
Every thought or memory forms connections of neurons in our brain. Thoughts then become organized into a pattern called ‘neuro-net‘.
For example, consider the feeling of love stored in a very large neuro-net inside our brain. Everyone builds his or her concept of love from many different ideas and experiences. Some people have connected love to disappointment; so when they think about love, they instantly experience the memory of pain, sorrow, anger or even rage. The more we feel a certain way, the more these nerve cells develop that pattern in our brain.
Affirmations interrupt our maladaptive neuro-nets. The more we use positive affirmations, the more those nerve cells that are connected to each other. This starts breaking the long-term pattern of our negative thoughts – literally re-wiring to our new, affirming beliefs. Science calls this neuroplasticity.
Negativity is not good for our health
Our negative attitudes and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can create chronic stress, which upsets our body’s hormone balance, depletes the brain chemicals required for happiness, and damages the immune system. Chronic stress can actually decrease our lifespan. Science has now identified that stress shortens our telomeres, the ‘end caps’ of our DNA strands, which causes us to age more quickly.
Poorly managed or repressed anger is also related to a slew of health conditions, such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, digestive disorders, and infection.
What you think about, attracts similar situations in your life
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” – Henry Ford
You might have heard that ‘like attracts like’. When you focus only on negative thoughts, you create more negative circumstances around you; and you face those circumstances negatively. Ultimately you get stuck into a cycle of negativity. While when you think positive thoughts, you create more positive situations in your life and the positive cycle goes on.
Understanding positive thinking and self-talk
Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you bury your head in the sand and ignore life’s less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through our head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of our self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that we create because of lack of information.
” Self talk is the most powerful form of communication because it either empowers you or defeats you.”
What makes an effective affirmation:
- When deciding what affirmations you need, focus in on where you have the most negative self-talk, and then choose affirmations that battle those issues.
- Choose affirmations that are short so they are easier to remember. Positive affirmations don’t need to be any longer than four or five words to be effective.
- Affirm your positive statements in the present tense. Use such phrases as ‘I am’ rather than ‘I shall be’. The mind will work harder to turn the thought into reality if it is challenged to provide immediate results.
- Get in the habit of repeating the affirmation whenever you are not engaged in other activities. Mentally repeat your affirmations, or say them out loud when you are driving or waiting in line.
- It is very important to attach your emotions with that affirmation. Feel good ?
- Use only positive words. For example, instead of saying ‘I am not fat’, say ‘I am healthy’ or ‘I am thin’.
- Write up your affirmations and affix them to places you regularly see in order to remind you to continue with the practice.
“A few drops will not make any difference to the rock but if the drops fall continuously, then over a period of time, the rock will be worn out.”
Here are a few positive affirmations to get you started
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- I feel joy and contentment in this moment right now.
- I find joy and pleasure in the most simple things in life.
- My partner and I share a deep and powerful love for each other.
- Every day in every way, I am becoming more and more successful.
- When I breath, I inhale confidence.
- I am unique. I feel good about being alive and being me.
- I nourish my body with healthy food.
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