[dropcap]At[/dropcap] this time of year many folks begin to think about the year just passed as well as the New Year looming before them. What did I do that I really wanted to do? What did I really want to do that didn’t happen? What is it that I want to create and experience? What can I do to make sure I create and experience all that I want?
We have all heard that affirmations are a great method for creating and experiencing what we desire in life. But I would venture to say that you have probably tried affirmations time and time again only to find that they didn’t result in the experience you desired, or did they?
I can hear you now, “what do you mean by, or did they? I would know if I was experiencing what I desired to create and experience. How could I not know? I would be having the experience and therefore know, right?”
All great questions, however let’s start with the definition of an affirmation and then we will get to the 3 keys to using them effectively.
An affirmation is a statement or proposition that is declared and held to be true. It is an assertion that something exists or is true.
Notice the definition doesn’t say that an affirmation is a declaration of the truth. It is a statement that declares or asserts something as being true.
It also doesn’t state that an affirmation is a statement that declares or asserts that what is being affirmed is positive or of benefit. And yet, when we think of an affirmation it is generally in positive or beneficial terms.
I used to affirm regularly that I always get sick over the holidays. And guess what would happen? That’s right; I would get sick over the holidays! This persisted until I realized what I was doing. I now affirm over and over again that I never get sick.
What you affirm doesn’t have to be true, only held as true and acted on as being true. If you hold beliefs (affirm) that you are not good enough, worthy enough, deserving of…..etc, etc, etc., you will see your life experiences reflective of those beliefs and subsequent affirmations.
Likewise, if you hold and act on empowering beliefs and affirm them, your life experiences will be reflective of these beliefs and subsequent affirmations.
What thoughts, mostly subconscious, run through your mind that affirm you are not worthy or deserving of the goodness of life, or the relationship, the job, or level of prosperity you desire? What declarations or assertions are you making and holding as true that in you know in your heart are not?
A comment that comes up quite frequently when discussing the topic of affirmations with coaching clients is the feeling of being inauthentic, a fraud, even lying to themselves if what they are affirming is not true in that moment.
You have probably heard, “fake it until you make it” in conjunction with affirmations. The idea being that if you state your affirmation over a period of time, hold what you are affirming as true, and you believe that what you are affirming is possible, it will eventually come to be.
When we have a thought about an experience we desire, it exists as pure potential. It is when we believe it is possible that all of the necessary components converge to bring about the experience. There is no faking; it is an act of creation.
Quite simply, we constantly affirm, and therefore experience, what we believe and hold as true, whether conscious of it or not. It doesn’t matter if what we are affirming is what we are experiencing in the moment. What matters is that we believe it is possible and through our affirmations call the experience to our Self.
Three Keys to the Effective Use of Affirmations:
Recognize that you are already affirming what you believe and hold as true, whether conscious of it or not. If your life experiences are not what you desire them to be question what you are affirming. What am I affirming that would deny the full experience and expression of my Self. What am I affirming that would deny the life I desire? And then ask, is it true?
Recognize that what you declare and hold as true, you create and experience. What you declare you claim. What you claim you make yours. What you make yours you experience.
Consciously declare and affirm what you desire to experience and you will call those experiences to your Self. The more consciously you declare and affirm what you desire, the more aware you become of the opportunities to make it so. The more aware you are of the opportunities, the more likely you will take action toward the realization of those desires.
Awareness is key to using affirmations effectively and to living life in full expression. The more aware you are of who you are, what you are doing and what you believe, the more you open your Self to receiving and experiencing all that you desire.
Until next time,
If you enjoyed this post I invite you to share it with others by clicking on the links to the left.
