Last week we explored how positive affirmations can get off track, and I received a ton of feedback from you! Wow. So, let’s go deeper. Whether your affirmations are a little stale, or perhaps you’ve even slacked off a bit, this article is for you.
Here are five ways you can check in on your affirmation practice and get back on track.
Get An Affirmation Reset
As we grow, our affirmations can change with us. Maybe it’s as simple as needing to review and reset your affirmations. Just as you go through a performance review at work, take some time every quarter, or at least once a year, to go through your affirmations and see if they’re still right for you.
See if you can match a real-world achievement to each affirmation. If you can’t, it’s time for a reset.
Are Your Affirmations A Good Fit?
One reason your affirmations aren’t working could be because they’re not appropriate for you. If you hate the gym, there’s no point in having an affirmation that requires you to go there every day. That will make you miserable. If you want to get fit, swap out your affirmation to one that you’ll enjoy, like running or playing tennis. Your affirmation has to feel right, or it won’t work.
The best affirmations are associated with an inner experience rather than outer circumstances. That is where you have real impact, and your outer experience tends to magnetically align with how you already experience yourself.
Your Affirmation is Too Ambitious
I believe in aiming high. However, there are levels of success we achieve along the way to our grandest aspirations. In fact, as audaciously as you are envisioning your future, you are capable of infinitely more. Getting there is a journey. If your affirmations are too challenging in this moment, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and discouragement. Instead, approach your affirmations as stages. Affirmations that are too much are often a trap that beginners fall into, and become a “proof of impossibility” and an excuse to not even try.
Enthusiasm is fine but go easy on the perfectionism. Keep your affirmations achievable, and you can build on them later. You won’t lose 20 pounds in 24 hours. But you can lose them, and feel incredible about yourself.
You’re Not Saying It Like You Mean It
Your attitude creates the biggest impact when it comes to affirmations. How do you say them? Out loud and confident? Or do you mumble and feel embarrassed? Sometimes our awkwardness shows up as just glancing at the affirmation, giving it little attention or passion. In other words, you barely affirm anything out of uncertainty or mistrust. Overcome your awkwardness by changing your tone and posture.
The most effective approach I have found is to stand tall, look yourself in the eye and say your affirmations calmly and confidently. If this is simply too intense for you, then close your eyes, sit still and relaxed, and repeat your affirmation as a mantra or affirmative prayer. Your confidence will grow with time.
You Don’t Make A Time Investment in Your Affirmations
How much time do you spend on your affirmation practice? Be honest. Out of your sixteen hours a day of waking time, what proportion do you spend in building yourself up? We already know that almost 85% of our thoughts and inner dialog is negative, and it takes 3 positive thoughts to counteract one negative idea – nothing could be more important than your affirmations.
If you spend ten minutes on affirmations, you are ahead of most people. Try to become more actively aware of your self-talk like for the rest of the day. Perhaps you’re positive, or maybe you’re undermining yourself with self-doubt and negative self-talk. See your affirmation practice as an investment, and allot it the appropriate amount of your time.five