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Tips For Creating An Effective Positive Affirmation

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There was an article in the press recently which suggested that positive affirmations do more harm than good. This was based on research from the University of New Brunswick, in Canada, that showed that individuals with low self-worth actually felt more negative after doing positive affirmations. However, this research was flawed and in conflict with the results shown by other studies on the subject. The key to using positive affirmations effectively is to write them in the right way.

What Do You Want?

So how do you create a positive affirmation that will bring you great results? It goes without saying, but the first step in writing one is to be absolutely clear on what it is that you want. If the affirmation doesn’t create some sort of emotional response in you then you do not truly want it, and your subconscious will most likely ignore the message.

Take some time to brainstorm what you want out of life. If you want, you can separate your desires into different categories such as work, wealth, health, and relationships. You might need to create several different affirmations, which is fine but try to limit them to between four and six in number.

Get Very Specific

Affirmations need to be specific – which we will cover more in a minute – but while you are brainstorming you should go into detail about each desire. For example, your initial impulse might be to write down “have more money”. But think about why you want more money. When it comes down to it, your core desire might not be money, it might be the opportunity for a family vacation that more money might give you. That is what you need to be writing an affirmation for.

Writing The Affirmation

Hopefully, after completing the brainstorming exercise you have a very clearly defined idea of what you want out of life. Now it is time to write an affirmation that will really work for you. An effective affirmation should be:

* Positive
* Written in the present tense
* Specific

Let’s go into each of those in more detail. You might be thinking that it is hardly a revelation that a positive affirmation should be “positive””. But you would be surprised by how many people write an affirmation such as “I am not fat” and then wonder why they aren’t seeing weight loss results. Their brain hones in on the “fat” part of the sentence! In this instance, the affirmation should be “I am slim and healthy”.

Affirmations should also be written as though they are in the present. If your affirmation is “I will pay off my mortgage”, your brain will think of it as being a future event. “I am so excited to have paid off my mortgage” will produce the desired emotional response, and get you genuinely motivated to achieve that goal.

Finally, be specific. If your goal is financial independence, don’t just create an affirmation about having more money. Think about the exact amount of money which would transform your life.

Affirmations are a very powerful tool if used in the right way. The key to using them effectively is to write them in the correct manner and to practice them consistently.