Affirmations for a Happier Life

We all talk to ourselves, positively or negatively. In other words, you use affirmations whether you realise it or not. The affirmations you use are in the form of quotations, idioms, proverbs, sayings and knowledge that you've gained throughout your life as well as quotes from people who you've allowed to influence you either consciously or unconsciously.

Many of these are borrowed affirmations which are patterns or paradigms which you have allowed to shape your thinking. You can however consciously choose the affirmations that you want to shape your life.

An affirmation is a positive, believable thought that you choose to immerse in your consciousness to produce a desired result.

Rather than wade through the theory behind affirmations, let’s get right down to it and experience what we mean by affirmations and feel the impact almost immediately.

So before you read further, here’s a challenge for you. Read the following twenty affirmations OUT LOUD WITH ENERGY and take note of what resonates and how it makes you feel. In the space provided, read your name within each affirmation.

• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx take responsibility for my own happiness, right now and choose to concentrate on what I have instead of what I lack.
• This is a big day for me! Nothing is more important than this day. Today is a wonderful day, everything works out for me. Today I’m successful, today I am happy, today I grow in love.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx take responsibility for my life. I am courageous, I act and make things happen. I embrace life and I choose to be happy.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx live as much of my life as I can right now! I find my greatest pleasure right here, in the moment, so whatever I am doing, I do as well as I can.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx commit myself to noticing when I rush. I can’t smell the roses if I am running past them. As soon as I notice myself rushing, I bring myself back to the present moment.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx find my happiness by living in the moment rather than demanding that situations, conditions, places, or people make me happy.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx live in truth, openness and integrity. I live my life on purpose and remain true to my values.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx make optimum use of my senses and live in a state of awareness, experiencing fully, all the wonderful facets of life. I trust and act on my intuition.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx enjoy the positive energy of health by giving and allowing my body appropriate nutrition, exercise, stimulation, relaxation and peace of mind.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx nurture friends by allowing them the freedom to be themselves, whilst giving them empathy, love and support. I grow my relationships with effective, honest and open communication.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx become what I think about all day long. The more attention I put on something that is positive, the better I feel. When I find myself trapped in my analytical mind, I drop my thoughts, clear my mind, and relax. I accept thoughts for what they are. There is no need to turn them into more than they really are or to take them too seriously.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx am happy with what is, rather than obsessing with what could be better.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx strive to be fully with the person I am with.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx distrust and dismiss my thoughts when I am low. I wait until my mood lifts which happens quickly when I don’t focus on negative thoughts.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx am gentle on myself. I treat myself with compassion, love, humour and acceptance, and above all, I am true to myself.
• My energy is abundant, exciting, liberating, and affects everyone and everything around me in a positive way.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx am stronger than temptation. I assert my will, take control, and then relax and enjoy my life.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx support and nurture my friends and loved ones by allowing them the freedom to be themselves, whilst giving them complete love and support.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx project confidently and positively in all situations by using positive language, refraining from criticism and complaints, displaying a can-do attitude, and keeping my spirits high.
• I xxxxxxxxxxxxxx let go - I choose confrontations only with absolute consciousness and good judgement.

How was that for you? And those were affirmations written by someone else! When you create your own, you’ll be amazed by the results. The use of affirmations rests on the concept that thought is creative, that what you think about, consciously or unconsciously, creates the world you inhabit.

Affirmations are clear, desirable, positive thoughts. You think affirmations deliberately and consciously to replace unclear, unwanted, negative thoughts.

The repetitive use of the affirmation will simultaneously make its impression on your mind and erase the old thought pattern, producing permanent desirable changes in your life. Thoughts produce results, and since realisations can very soon be discovered with this approach, the results are often startling. Be sure that you are willing to take on the added responsibilities, the new adventures and challenges that will manifest as a result of your breaking the old mould. The subconscious mind can be impressed like a piece of clay. It is helpful and more powerful to experience the feeling and the visualisation of the affirmation as you say or write it.

How to make affirmations work for you

There are numerous ways of using affirmations:

• If you don’t believe your affirmation, it won’t work for you. If you are affirming that you are totally fit and healthy and you know you aren’t fit and healthy, there’s not much chance of you believing in the power of the affirmation. If you however change it to, “I am now willing to improve my health”, it could be totally believable and move you towards achieving your goal.
• If the affirmation is not supported by ACTION, you’re probably wasting your time. If you’re affirming how healthy you are while lying around eating junk food and watching television every day, the chances are that you’ll never improve your health. If however you affirm this while going for a strenuous walk, you’ll probably stand a good chance of succeeding.
• Work with one or more every day. The best times are just before sleeping, before starting the day and especially whenever you feel depressed or discouraged.
• Look in the mirror and say them to yourself out loud. Keep saying them until you eliminate all facial tension and grimaces and are able to see yourself with a relaxed happy expression.
• One way to play with affirmations is to select an affirmation you want to concentrate on, write it down and then write down the negative thoughts that comes to mind as you think about the affirmation. Keep writing the affirmation over and over until the negatives that come up are the same as ones you already have written down. Then turn each one of the negatives around into a positive statement, until you have a set of positive statements that all relate back to the affirmation you first chose.
• Say or write each affirmation in the first, second, and the third person. Always remember to put your own name in the affirmation and keep it in the present tense. Writing in the second and third person is also very important since your conditioning from others came to you in this manner.
• Continue working with the affirmations daily until they become totally integrated into your consciousness. You will know this when your mind responds positively and you begin to experience the desired results.
• Say the affirmations out loud. Hear them, take them in, experience them, let them work for you.
• Record your affirmations and play them back whenever you can.
• Sit across from a friend and say the affirmation to your friend until you are comfortable doing it. Then have him/her say it to you in the second person. Your partner can observe your body language carefully. He/she should not let you go onto a new affirmation until you say the first one very clearly without contradictory body reactions (squirming, fidgeting, laughing, etc.). Also he/she should continue to say it back to you in second person until you can receive it well without grief or embarrassment.
• Make cards with your affirmations on them and place them where you'll see them at appropriate times.

Enjoy!