Do Positive Affirmations Work?

Do Positive Affirmations Work?  Choosing Your Sound Track.

Motivational and Inspirational quotes can inspire and remind us of what we want for our lives

For many of us the phrase “positive affirmations” conjures up frightening images of standing in our underwear in front of the mirror telling ourselves we are beautiful / invincible / the best of the best, so it is perhaps unsurprising that considering using them makes most of us cringe a little.  But every time we hear stories of celebrities who credit their mental coaches and daily positive affirmations ritual for their success we secretly ask ourselves “Could they work for me?” Is it possible that such simple techniques as saying nice things to yourself could help you achieve your life’s ambitions and make you feel on top of the world?

Most people can remember a time when their negative mental chit-chat made them feel tired, lethargic, sad or inadequate so it should be no surprise to discover that changing the script of that inner self-talk can completely change how we feel and act in our daily lives.  Changing how we talk to ourselves forms the basis of nearly all self – improvement programmes and techniques no matter what they are called or how they are packaged.

Most people never become consciously aware of their own self-talk; that inner voice that chats away to us day after day throughout our entire lives.  The problem is that it is only by becoming aware of what we say to ourselves that we can label it as accurate /inaccurate / out of date / based on one bad experience in childhood / said unfairly by an angry parent etc.  Once we begin to consciously filter out what self-talk statements are and aren’t beneficial to us we can proceed to choose what we would like to tell ourselves.  You can then shorten these more positive self statements to make pithy one line or even one word affirmations such as “power”, or “Every day I am becoming a better version of myself”.

If the gap between what you want to say to yourself and what you feel in your heart of hearts to be true then you may need to do some pencil and paper work to challenge those niggling doubts.  If you feel you are no good at exams check this thought is up-to-date; are you holding on to a label about yourself that dates back to childhood when you were intimidated by teachers or examiners? Are you mind reading? Putting words in the mouths of others and presuming you know what they are thinking is one of the commonest causes of anxiety.  If you are telling yourself you could never be a runner did you run too fast the last time you tried? Perhaps you just need to start out more slowly next time.  One note of caution: positive affirmations should not be used by those suffering from depression as the gap between the affirmation and how they actually feel can seem too much often leave the individual feeling worse.

What you say to yourself has an effect on your breathing, heart rate, posture and blood chemistry and many other parts of your  body and mind so it is well worth choosing your words carefully.  Standing in front of a mirror will increase the speed at which you internalise your new self -talk.  The dress code is up to you.

Quotes from intellectual and spiritual leaders used as positive affirmations help us to clarify our goals in life

Susannah Healy is a Psychologist, Trainer and hypnotherapist.  She is an Int. Editor of the European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis and Director of Access Psychology Ireland, a psychological services clinic in Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16., Ireland  TEL: 00-353-1-235 1000

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