The Best Kinds of Affirmations

There has been a lot of controversy in the self-growth world regarding the effectiveness of reciting positive affirmations. Popular culture often pokes fun at it, like in the movie American Beauty where Annette Benning’s tragic character repeats to herself over and over “I am not a victim! I am not a victim!” Or the hilarious Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live - “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” nnThe truth is many successful and famous people use affirmations on a regular basis. Scott Adams, the author of the hit cartoon strip Dilbert, has said he uses affirmations and they work well for him. I’m here to say that affirmations DO work, but you have to do them the correct way to get any results. nnMost people who are interested in self-growth, myself included, have tried affirmations but we had given up on them because we didn’t get any results. We tried classic affirmations like “Every day in every way, I get better and better and better” or some other ones out of various self-help books. nnThe problem with these stock affirmations is they don’t have a deep, personal meaning for every individual who uses them. You need to think of affirmations that relate to YOU and only YOU, because this is all about your own, personal self-improvement. The English language is limited, and so you need to pick the types of words that affect you the most and these will bring you the desired results. nnThink about the kind of person you wish you could be. What characteristics would you like to have, and how would you like to feel? Use your own terminology that you feel conjures up the best picture of your ideal self. Remember, you know what’s best for you, so have the confidence that you know what will work and what doesn’t.nnAll you need is a couple minutes a day to recite a half-dozen or so affirmations. You can either use someone else’s affirmations or write them yourself. One thing is necessary though, it has to be something you really want to come true and it has to mean something to you. If you only half-heartedly care about the affirmation coming true, then there’s no point in reciting it, you’ll lose interest in it on a conscious and subconscious level. nnWhen you use affirmations that mean something to you, two good things happen: 1. As you are reciting them, good feelings start to emerge within you. You fill yourself with positive energy and a sense of hope. You picture yourself with all the good qualities that you’ve just recited, and your head is full of happy thoughts. 2. The other thing that happens is your unconscious mind will begin to mesh these positive qualities into your personality. You will have more confidence in your voice, your movements will be smoother, and your overall sense of joy will increase. nnBy the way, don’t tell anyone you are doing affirmations. Affirmations are something you do in private and after a week or two, you will really see great results. You want people to think your glowing and charismatic personality is something that comes naturally. You don’t have to sit in one place when you do them either. You can do them in the car, while working out, or going for a walk. Also, after you are done reciting your affirmations for the day, wipe your mind clean of them. They will do the trick of seeping into your unconscious on their own. You don’t have to think about it any more and you actually shouldn’t. Just go on with your day as if you didn’t recite the affirmations at all, and you have no expectations and no demands for self-improvement. nnHere are some examples of affirmations that I like and have worked for me. If they strike a chord with you, then by all means use them, or rewrite them to suit your individual personality better.nn1. I’m confident around people.n2. I’m myself around people.n3. I know my take on reality is correct.n4. The way I see things is the truth.n5. I’m just out having a good time, results don’t matter.n6. No one can shake my confidence. n7. If I’m ignored by people it’s their issue not mine.n8. I’m a leader.n9. I don’t care what people think.n10. People enjoy my company and personality.n11. I live in the present moment.n12. I emit positive vibes. n13. I have positive energy.n14. I’m a happy person.n15. I am relaxed in conversations.n16. I enjoy talking with new people.n17. People can see the confidence coming forth from me.n18. I live in the present moment.n19. I embrace any negative feelings, and don’t let them sway my confidence.n20. My jokes are funny.n21. I’m relaxed and carefree.n22. I have interesting things to say.n23. I’m a great listener.n24. I’m a great conversationalist.n25. I walk and move with confidence.nnYou may find that you have difficulty mustering up the self discipline to do these affirmations five minutes a day. If you do, I suggest that you just push yourself and do them. There are people who consistently take an hour out of every single day to meditate. If they can take an hour out, there’s no reason why you can’t spend five minutes to do something that will dramatically improve your overall happiness. Even if you do these affirmations once every couple days, or even once a week, they will have a positive effect. The important thing is that you consistently do them.n