Affirmations - The Magic of Positive Thinking

What do you see when you look in the mirror? What do you tell yourself before starting a hard day? What’s going on in your mind when you need to face your problems? Many people are full of self-deprecating thoughts: they don’t really feel like they can get past obstacles in their life; they don’t think they’re good enough to become a successful person; and sometimes, they feel like they don’t deserve to be loved. These feelings and thoughts can really hold them back and ruin their chances of being happy. Today, I’d like to talk about affirmations, which can be a really helpful method to change your way of thinking.

What are Affirmations?

As it’s written in Crystal Raypole’s article, affirmations are self-help strategies that people use to boost their confidence and belief in their abilities. What do affirmations look like? Affirmations are simple and positive statements like for example ‘I can make it.’ or ‘I deserve to be loved.’

How to work with affirmations?

First of all, you need to create or find the affirmations that suit you. According to Dr. Ronald Alexander's article, the first step is self-reflection and finding out the negative thoughts you have about yourself. It can also be useful to try to recall situations when someone else criticized you. Make a list of all these negative thoughts and feelings that could hold you back. Then, write or find a good affirmation that could address your needs and keep those negative thoughts at bay. For example, if you felt that you can’t get a job or succeed in an important interview, you can create an affirmation like ‘I’ve got what it takes to get a job and succeed in interviews.’

Say it out loud

Do you have an affirmation? Say them out loud! According to Crystal Raypole, a good practice is to start saying the affirmations twice a day for 3-5 minutes - you can add it to your morning and evening routines, for example. It’s good to repeat each affirmation 10 times. Try to focus on the words you are saying, and really believe them. You could also ask a friend to repeat the affirmations to you. If you really want to make the affirmations effective, keep in mind that you need to take action. Affirmations will not create the change for you but take you a step closer by creating a positive mindset. Try to apply the qualities you work on through your affirmations in real life, such as at work or in your relationships.

Where to find good affirmations

There are a whole host of affirmations that can be used in many different situations - from depression or anxiety to career, self-improvement, and relationships. If you don’t think you can write your own affirmations, you could find some that are already written, such as in the VOS app. Check the latest update, and with the information from this article, you have everything you need to begin improving your mental health.

I would also recommend the book Positive Affirmations: Daily affirmations for attracting health, healing, & happiness into your life by Rachel Robins (read about it here). I also like the affirmations in this Catherine Moore article.

I wish you all the luck on your journey to a better self, and I hope you find affirmations useful.