Using positive affirmations every day is a powerful way of switching up your mindset and adding positive energy to your activities. Positive Affirmations can set you on the path to success and reinforce your motivation and enthusiasm.
More people, from sports stars to entrepreneurs, are using affirmations to change their mindsets to concentrate on achieving their goals and creating the life they really want. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create your own, powerful, positive affirmations focused on what you want to bring into your life, and what you want to amplify.
Step 1: Take Control with “I Am” Statements
Affirmations are much more powerful if they start with the words “I am.” Those two little words immediately make whatever follows personalized and immediate – not for someday in the distant future, but right now. Immediately, the affirmation is not generic, suitable for just anyone, but yours – focused on what you want to be or have right now.
Step 2: Keep your Affirmation in the Present
Notice the words “I am” are not “I want” or “I will.” A powerful affirmation puts you right in the middle of what you want to achieve right now. Not something to “work towards” or “wish” might happen but is happening right now, in the present time.
Step 3: Keep your Affirmation Positive
Powerful affirmations make you feel good. They are positive. Keep the focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. What you focus on will grow and manifest, so use the power within you to bring more positive energy and results into your life.
Step 4: Keep your Affirmation Brief
You’re not drafting an essay or even a wish list. Keep your affirmation short and focused, so it’s easy to remember. You want to be able to state your affirmation quickly and consistently – by making your affirmation too broad – too many items – or too long, you run the risk of creating a process that gets bogged down in details and may be harder to create a positive habit around.
Step 5: Keep your Affirmation Specific
A powerful affirmation is focused on precisely what you want. If it’s a house on a particular street, a dream trip to a small Tuscan village, or a specific weight loss goal, include the detail in your affirmation. Make it as real as you can – in language that resonates with you.
Step 6: Make your Affirmation Action-oriented
Powerful affirmations have energy! They have an active, present tense verb in them. Think of what you’re doing in your desired life. Are you enjoying your new home? Relaxing on that Hawaiian beach? Driving your new car? Describe running the business of your dreams, or deciding where to invest your profits, or the next step to take on your journey toward an advanced degree. Make the statement an imperative – not a question, no – a statement of what WILL BE.
Step 7: Include a Positive Emotion in your Affirmation
If your affirmation is going to make you feel good, you must evoke the positive emotion you want to feel.
How will you feel when you achieve your goal? Happy? Grateful? Proud of yourself? What positive emotions are going to fire you up and increase your enthusiasm for the process and the outcome? Include them in your affirmation to help tap into that power.
Step 8: Stay Attentive to Yourself
The most potent affirmation are the ones you make for yourself. That’s why generic affirmations have a limited effect. They might feel good at the moment but won’t get to the heart of what you want for yourself. You can start (or be inspired) by a sample affirmation but take the extra step and add some extra oomph by customizing the affirmation so that it resonates with your heart, soul, and spirit.
Step 9: Create an Affirmation Habit
Like any new behavior, affirmations are most powerful when they are repeated regularly and consistently. Set up a positive habit by writing down your affirmations and committing to repeating them to yourself at least three times a day. Morning, midday, and bedtime might be convenient times for you. Continue this practice for at least 21 to 28 days – that gives you time to incorporate the affirmation into your daily life.
Create a new, powerful routine and incorporate positive affirmations, and you’ll be able to manifest the life of your dreams. Don’t wait – start today! If you need a hand to get you started, check out our Affirmations page – we publish new affirmations every Monday.
If you’d like to write your affirmations down for a longer-lasting effect, consider using a journal to keep track of your affirmations, when you start using them, and to track your results. Check out our multi-purpose Journals and our articles on Journaling.
