Affirmations are amazing tools. I would bet you have heard of them of them before but do you really know what they are? To really understand affirmations, we have to take a step back and talk about programming.
Your mind is amazing. With it, you can do countless things at the same time without even realizing it! Some things, like breathing, happen naturally from the moment your lungs develop. Other things, a LOT of other things, are learned. Sometimes we forget that we had to learn certain skills. We have been walking most of our lives but it is a learned skill. Driving, typing, even texting all come so easily now but once upon a time, we had to learn how to do it. Our mind programs these skills so we don’t need to waste our energy or our “thinking” part of our mind on them.
The same thing happens with how we feel about ourselves. The things we are told and think as children can greatly influence who we become as adults. The child who is told they are no good by a parent, coach, or teacher, will grow up with a low self esteem and probably have problems with the law. A child who is constantly told they are perfect, can grow up to very arrogant. This programming also takes place internally. If a woman has a series of bad relationships, she might start believing that she is not worthy of love. Humans have a bad habit of telling themselves horrible things….things we would never say to anyone else suddenly seem okay to say to ourselves. Often times it is because of life experiences, but sometimes we are just mean to ourselves. When we constantly repeat a negative thought, we are programming our minds to believe it.
Negative programming can lead to bad self image, low self esteem, depression, and many other problems. Hypnosis is obviously a wonderful answer to help combat programming.
Part of hypnosis, and something easy that YOU can do right away, is to use positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are little sentences used to help you overcome negative programming. They can be used for just about anything!
An example is: “Everyday is every way, I get better and better”. It is so simple yet so powerful. To write an affirmation, it needs to be positive (don’t use something like “I am not weak” your mind can’t understand the not and will only hear weak. Instead, use “I am strong”). Keep it short but use powerful words. Don’t try to use flowery language, use words that you actually use. The closer the affirmation fits you, the better it will work!
Once you have a good affirmation written, apply it! Repeat it ten times before you go to sleep. Write it on pieces of paper and stick them to your mirror, fridge, desk, and other places. Remember to use it when you most need it. If you are working on staying calm, close your eyes and repeat it to yourself when you start getting upset.
That is it in a nutshell. The more often you use it, the quicker you will reprogram your mind. You can and will do it! As always, if you have any questions or need help writing affirmations, feel free to email me at Becka@tenderempowement.com
