Why Affirmations Don't Work

Unless you have been living under a rock on the dark side of the moon you have heard (from many sources) about the power of affirmations. No longer thought of as just a part of the New Age movement; affirmation training is included in some of the most logical of businesses--many of them are Fortune 500 companies.

Many of my clients (and myself, for that matter) have created affirmations for the things they want to manifest in their life. For most of us, our list of affirmations becomes a ritual. We may repeat them 2 or 3 times a day. We are full of hope that recitations of these affirmative words will magically transform our lives into one of perfection--a life that is filled with love, perfect health, wealth, peace--the list is endless.

Usually, within 2 weeks time, we begin to tire of the ritual. We're not seeing the change, or at least not the results we wanted to see. Like a new year's resolution the affirmations fade into disappointment and we return to doing the "same old, same old". From time to time we may revisit the affirmations in hopes that they will produce different results. But the only result we see or feel is one of frustration.

So, what went wrong? Probably it's a combination of many things. But, the number one reason affirmations don't work is because internally, we don't believe they will work. Unless we honor, accept, and voice our long-held, unhealthy belief structure--usually comprised of self-doubt, unworthiness or undeservingness, guilt, shame, victimization, etc. (the list is endless)--in our unconscious mind; change is not possible. I'm not saying we should scrap our affirmations. What I am saying is that we need to give the internal voice of our old belief system an opportunity to be heard. If we don't give it equal time to our new affirmations; time to speak about its beliefs or fears, it will always come back to sabotage and lead us back to our old self-destructive behavior.

You've probably heard the phrase: "If you always do what you always did; you'll always get what you always got." The unconscious wants to lull us back to what's predictable and expected. We may not like the conditions in our life; but the conditions themselves become a pattern. Our situations may change--but the way we handle our situations; the way we behave, usually defaults to our old internal script. "The way you do one thing is the way you do everything."

The truth is that affirmations DO work--but, the inner work--allowing the unconscious voice of the past to be heard--needs to happen at the same time the new affirmations are spoken.

Let me explain. When you send positive thoughts and words in present time out to the universe for manifestation; give your unconscious mind time for rebuttal. As an example: Let's say your affirmation is that you have one million dollars in your bank account. You want to attract and manifest $1,000,000.00. After you've said your affirmation listen to the internal response. Maybe your first response is, "NO I don't." Say the affirmation again. Wait for the internal response (you may want to write down these responses). Your second response may be: "I wish--or, that would be nice." Say the affirmation again. Your third response might be, "Maybe someday." Say the affirmation again. Your fourth response might be, "I wonder if I could do that?" Keep repeating the affirmation and the internal response until there is agreement--until the inner response can say, "Yes, you do."

It could take a few days for you to reach inner and outer agreement. It all depends on how deep-seated the destructive belief is in your unconscious mind. But, eventually you will reach that agreement. Every time you honor your inner self--your unconscious being that harbors all of your life's misconceptions--you diffuse its fear of change. You allow it to speak and more importantly, you listen. You allow it to be heard. Your unconscious self becomes a co-creator with you in changing destructive beliefs and behavior patterns into those that support your highest desire.

It takes time, perseverance, and due diligence to follow this action for every affirmation, but in the end the change is permanent and you find that the manifestation process becomes shorter. Your unconscious inner-being stops its sabotage and becomes your partner in letting go of destructive thoughts and behavior patterns. Remember, it takes 21 days to change a habit--that is 21 days of self-correcting and listening to the responses from your inner dialogue. After 21 days, the process becomes easier. The new belief and behavior begin to take root as your new habit--your new way of "doing life."

Another technique that I like is one that Noah St. John describes in his book, The Secret Code of Success: 7 Secret Steps to More Wealth and Happiness (2009, Harper-Collins). I first read about St. John in one of my "Early to Rise" daily newsletters that I subscribe to over the internet. St. John uses the word "afformations" instead of affirmations to describe his process. He claims that manifestation is a simpler process if the mind is engaged in the attraction process. To do this he asks a question and relies on the mind to find an answer. Once the mind discovers an answer or a solution to the question or problem, it can accept the answer or solution as a truth--in both the conscious and unconscious realms. The change of thought and behavior comes from the acceptance of the answer or solution. As an example: to manifest wealth St. John would have us ask the question, "Why am I so rich?" The mind immediately goes to work to find an answer and comes up with ideas, behaviors, and thoughts that are practiced by wealthy individuals. You could use the same premise to attract good health, love, peace of mind, happiness--anything that you wish to attract in your life that would change it for the better.

Personally, I like to use a combination of both methods. The old script needs to be heard before it can morph into a supportive, positive belief and the thinking mind needs to be involved to stimulate the process into action. By combining these two methods we weave a rich tapestry that incorporates the gifts of both our conscious and unconscious self. At that point, the two "selves" can work together to produce positive change in your life.

© Copyright 2011 Dr. Janolyn F. Moore, PhD. All rights reserved.