Journey DAY 3: Writing Powerful Affirmations that WORK!

Hello sweet souls!

It's day three of our journey together.  If you haven't already signed up to follow, please do so that you can receive notification that the day's blog has been posted (via email) and please be sure to leave a comment on what you're working on so we can support you. This is all about us working side-by-side and HELPING one another! Also, feel free to request addition tools that may be most helpful for you and I'll work to include them if I can.

"As a man thinketh in his heart so is he...man is literally is what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts." -- James Allen, As A Man Thinketh (1943! Sound like the modern-day prosperity and secret mantras? I thought so!)
Hence, this morning we are going to talk and create affirmations. There are several different approaches to writing powerful affirmations, I will share mine as it is an accumulation of several instructions. Here's the truth, AFFIRMATIONS WORK...although they may seem silly to you at first. It's a bit awkward standing in front of a mirror and talking to yourself the first several times. And you might get some strange looks as your talking to yourself in the car...note, others will probably think you're talking on your phone! So, don't worry and go for it.

Here are some facts to keep in mind.
According to Lee Pulos "Using Positive Affirmations", every person carries on an continuous inner dialogue of self-talk of between 150 and 300 words a minute. This works out to between 45,000 and 51,000 thoughts a day. And you can't go more than 11 seconds without having a inner dialogue (unless you actively meditate!).

Most of our self-talk is harmless,"I have to get the car fixed," or "what will I eat for lunch?", etc.  However if your inner dialogue contains such self-talk as, "I'll always be heavy." or "I'll never make enough money." or "No one ever listens to me.", chances are you will always be heavy, broke and ignored. What you think literally comes to pass, you create and attract that exact situation you want to avoid.  What you think you will manifest.

We all entertain negative self-talk from time to time, but when it becomes your default talk, it creates a mental software for your beliefs that go on to become self-fulfilling prophecies. The repetition of your inner dialogue makes imaginary grooves in your brain...think about the gutter on your street. Your every thought is a drop of rain.  Every drop rolls downward into the gutter and runs along it until the end--the gutter is the groove and that groove can take you somewhere positive or negative. We need to create grooves in our mind that take us to the place we want to be...not the place we want to avoid. A new groove can only be created through the  conscious entertaining and repetition of positive, powerful thoughts through affirmations.

James Alan, author of As A Man Thinking, says that we are the makers of ourselves...and WE are our THOUGHTS. 

"They (man/woman) themselves are the makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the out garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness."

Here's the facts about affirmations (and visualizations)
1. What your conscious mind consistently and intentionally focuses its energy on, your subconscious mind will begin to accept as fact.  This will not happen the first time you repeat your affirmations, but after a week of repeating them over several times a day, you will begin to notice a subtle shift.  I ascribe to the believe that it takes 30 days to create a new habit....and then daily upkeep to make that new habit (or thought) a part of your belief system.

Og Mandino states, "As I repeat the words daily they will soon become a part of my active mind, but more important, they will also seep into my other mind, that mysterious source which never sleeps, which creates my dreams..."

2. Your affirmations, if written properly, may seem absurd to your unconscious mind at first.  This is normal!  As I mentioned, it takes time and repetition for your subconscious mind to accept what your conscious mind is telling it.  Stay with it.

3.  Finding visual pictures that represent your affirmation and placing them aside your written affirmation, or even reviewing them following your reading or speaking of your affirmation will help your mind, conscious and unconscious, focus intently on manifestation of the affirmation.

Writing Powerful Affirmations: Remember and affirmation is a STATEMENT OF INTENT...in the beginning it is not your current reality...it is what you WANT and WHERE YOU WANT TO BE!

There are two key elements of an affirmation: (1) formulating the suggestion that you wish to program into your brain, and (2) repetition. And when writing your affirmations, they must always be simple and written and constructed in the positive and in the present tense. They must also start with and "I" or an "I AM" statement. 

Set your intention! Here's an example. Say you weigh 205 pounds and you want to weigh 140 lbs. as that is the weight that you remember feeling and looking your best. Now, normally you'd be walking around saying, I need to lose 65 pounds mixed with, I'll never be able to lose 65 lbs.  These are statements that create stress, negativity and set you up for less then stellar results. So, change your intent and write an affirmation.
a. I look and feel my best at 140 pounds.
b. I am a person who maintains a healthy weight of 140 pounds.

Here, you've set up your "I" or "I am" statement, kept it simple, and set a firm intention of weighing 140 pounds.

Now, let's look at some other examples of writing positive, powerful affirmations.

1.
Wrong:  I will not smoke.
Correct::  I AM a non-smoker.
2.
Wrong: I need to be more assertive and straight-forward when I talk to others.
Correct: I am friendly, fair and frank in all of my conversations with others.
3.
Wrong: I need to do more sales calls and make more money.
Correct: I am a person who makes 25 sales calls a week and creates a yearly income of $100,000 a year.

Here are some of my personal affirmations. Feel free to use them yourself or modify them for your use.
1. I am a person who puts God above all else and studies His word every day.
2. I am a person who puts self-care above every other earthly activity.
3. I am a person who believes in my ability to add value to my clients.
4. I am confident that new business opportunities will come my way.
5. I am a person who earns $???,??? a year.
6. I am a person who avoids any and all activities that are a danger to myself or those around me.
7. I am friendly, fair and frank in all of my conversations with others.
8. I expect the highest and best in life and give the highest and best of myself back to life.
And my list goes on!

If you have any questions or need some help, please feel free to email me at kaston@kathleenastonintl.com. I'll do my very best to get back to you within 24 hours!

Also, please let us know if this has been helpful.  Please post a comment on level of helpfulness and also how you have applied it...if you have!  Remember, we're building a community of support for one another here!

Hey! Best part....get some magazines and cut out some pictures...You on a cruise, at the spa, speaking in front of thousands of people (OK, you're not probably in these pics...but find a visual that represents what you want...set your intention!)  I found a picture of 100,000 dollar bills and put 10 together for a visualization of my $1 million goal for revenue!  Have fun!

In light, love and laughter,
Kathleen