Do you say affirmations every day?

Are they working?

I consult with many people who say affirmations every day and they wonder why they are not getting better and/or achieving their desired result.

Simple. The affirmations are not working.

First, let me define "affirmation": It is one or two sentences that describes a state you would like to achieve. The aim is to say these sentences regularly with the view of achieving this state. For example, two common affirmations are "I love and accept myself" and "Today is going to be a great day".

If you are into affirmations, you may be thinking I have made a mistake with one of these - and I have. More about that later.

Should you say affirmations?

Yes and No.

The aim is to say positive words that get you thinking in a positive way. These words can also represent a goal you would like to achieve, like "Today is a happy day".

Many years ago I used to believe in affirmations. Most of the big gurus say you should be saying them - and daily. There are many books written on them so I thought it was a good thing.

When clients who were saying affirmations failed to achieve the desired results, this got me thinking. There had to be a better way.

I was about to present a one hour talk on motivation to around 2,000 people. I often listen to the preceding speaker so I can tailor my talk to reinforce some of their key points. One of the best ways to learn is constant reinforcement.

The speaker before me was speaking about saying affirmations, like "I am a winner" and "I am successful". As he continued to talk about these affirmations it became clear to me he was not achieving these states and I asked myself the question "Why are you a winner and a success?"

I had one of those light bulb moments.

Know the Reason "Why"

People say affirmations trying to convince themselves of the state they would like to achieve.

This is why many say affirmations for 12 months or more and still fail to achieve the desired state.

The solution is simple.

When saying an affirmation, place "because" at the end.

"I am a winner because ...", "I love and accept myself because ... " and "Today is going to be a great day because ...".

Can you easily complete these affirmations or are you having problems. Can you give the reasons why you are a winner, why you are successful and why today is going to be a great day?

Most have problems as they don't know the reason "why" - which is why they say the affirmation - to convince themselves.

Make the "because" specific. For example, "Today is going to be a great day because I make each and every experience work for me". You are now clear on how you are going to make each day great.

"I am a success because I have a loving caring family. I have a great job where I get to work with friendly people and earn good money. I live in a magnificent home and have some awesome friends."

Because you now "know" the reasons ‘why', you no longer have to convince yourself.

Now your affirmation has meaning and can be acted on.

I mentioned at the start of this newsletter there was a fault with one of the affirmations. Have you picked which one?

"Today is going to be a great day".

This is future tense.

Keep all your affirmations in current tense. "Today is a great day because ...".

Good luck.