I can’t even remember how many years ago I picked up my first copy of “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay.
The Power of Affirmations
For a long time, I travelled with the CD version of “I CAN DO IT” in my car. I listened every day to Louise Hay providing me with inspiration to continue my affirmation practice with clear intentions. In the areas of health, wealth, relationships, self-esteem, forgiveness and work, she shares practical expressions to support mindset shifts that are truly life-changing. As I listened, I’d be reminded of some important points to remember as I practiced. She teaches that affirming, declaring, deserving, and allowing are the steps that manifest our desires.
Below are a few points I’d like to share so that you, too, can begin receiving the benefits of the practice of affirmations and change your life.
Steps to Change Your Life
When you catch yourself saying things like “I hate my job” or “Life sucks”, gently tell yourself that those are old ways of thinking and you no longer choose to think that way. Replace those thoughts with positive thoughts like “I value my work” and “I am energized by my life.”
2. Your beliefs are merely habitual thinking patterns that you learned as a child. Some of these beliefs may be limiting your ability to create the very things you say you want. Self awareness is a critical part of any new affirmation practice. Pay attention to your thoughts so that you can begin to eliminate the ones creating experiences that you don’t want.
3. Keep your affirmations simple and say them often. Affirmations are not intended to be complex. Simple statements that you can remember and repeat often are the most powerful. Find 30 seconds, five times per day to reflect on your chosen statements and say them out loud. 150 seconds = 2.5 minutes. If you’re struggling with chaos and confusion and a life that seems out of control, using the affirmation “All is well” will help to shift your thinking in less than 3 minutes per day. Simply state “All is well”, each time you feel yourself doubting the possibility of positive changes coming into your life.
4. Use expressions that reflect the event or thing you are asking for as if it has already happened and it is in the present tense. Say “I am”, not “I will”. “I will” implies a future that is always in the future, in essence never becoming the present. The same is true for “I want…”. When you use a phrase that begins with “I want…” you are implying you will always want it, and therefore never actually have it.
5. Fake it until you become it. When you first begin using affirmations, you may feel awkward and uncomfortable. Your intellectual mind will try to tell you that saying these simple phrases can’t possibly support true life-long changes. Resist the temptation to give up before you experience the shifts in consciousness that will change your life.
Stick with it for at least 30 days. Then embrace the practice for another 30 days. And another. Your life will transform. You will become the living truth that your statements are designed to affirm.
6. Prayers are affirmations, too. In the words of Abraham – from Ester and Jerry Hicks—these statements support the natural order that is “Ask. Believe. Receive.” Allow yourself to create your own personal prayers. And if using the term “prayer” creates some discomfort for you, call the expressions by another name.
Use your prayers to anchor your state of being for each new day. Click here to download a copy of The Wise Well Woman’s Daily Declaration, a daily prayer I created to begin each day.
7. Use your body language to support your powerfully positive statements. In her famous TED.com talk, Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy showed how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident has an impact on our chances for success. Practice posing like “Wonder Woman” at least once per day for two minutes.
8. Keep your affirmations to yourself. Many people are skeptical about the power of affirmations for reasons that have nothing to do with your experience. Don’t allow their limiting beliefs to overshadow your efforts to create change in your life.
When you practice consistently, soon they will be asking what you are doing that is resulting in your happiness. Then you can share with them the tools you are using.
During a difficult time in my personal life, I re-discovered the “Serenity Prayer” and I recited it out loud over and over and over, and it kept me sane. Reciting that prayer kept me focused and pulled me forward to living a life of love and serenity.
People started to notice subtle changes in my demeanor almost immediately. Eventually, even strangers began commenting on how calm and relaxed I appeared. Just months earlier, all anyone noticed was how anxious and agitated I was. The simple act of reciting this prayer anchored my life transformation.
To honor the impact this prayer had on my life and to continually affirm it’s power, I have worn a bracelet embossed with the words of the Serenity Prayer on it every day for more than 10 years. I continue to recite the prayer daily and I believe I always will. I share it here with you.
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”