Thoughts can be an extremely powerful tool, and if you are someone who believes in the saying “thoughts become things,” you need to know about the transformative power of affirmations. Affirmations can rewire your brain, making you truly believe in yourself, boost self-confidence, self-esteem, and in general promote positive thinking. They help in manifesting your thoughts into reality. In her post, guest author Amisha Fogla, a motivational speaker and life coach, writes about harnessing the power of affirmations, and how this simple practice can elevate your life. She also provides insight on how you can frame your own affirmations, and why this mindfulness practice should be an essential part of your morning routine.
Do you know what the two most powerful words are?
“I AM.”
Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “Whatever you prefix with the words I am becomes true for you.” So when you choose to say, “I am happy”, that is exactly what you are creating for yourself in reality. This is what an Affirmation is.
Louise Hay, a world-renowned motivational author, speaker and life coach, was the pioneer of affirmations, who battled cancer just with the power of her mind, using affirmations, without even having to go to a doctor. That’s truly the power of affirmations.
In fact, whether we know it or not, we are actually affirming to ourselves all the time. Every thought you think, every word you say, everything you feel, is actually an affirmation. They affirm what you believe to be true, and therefore create the experiences in your life. An affirmation is anything that you say, do, think and feel. Whether it’s a complaint or a gratitude statement: that’s also an affirmation. Every word and thought affirms something. Your decisions and actions are affirmations as well. The clothes that you choose to wear or the food you choose to eat – are all really affirming your life.
An affirmation is anything that you say yes to.
No matter what we choose to think, believe or say, the Universe always says yes to us. The Universe is always willing and ready to send us miracles. If we think failure, the Universe says yes to that. If we think success, the Universe says yes to that. It is all up to us. Every thought or sentence that we say is an affirmation: it can be either positive or negative. Positive affirmations create positive experiences, whereas negative affirmations, create negative experiences. If we continually choose negative thoughts about ourselves and our lives, we will receive those exact same negative experiences that match the frequency of our thoughts and beliefs. Therefore, we have to be careful of what we say yes to, because you attract what you affirm. We choose our thoughts and thus create our reality. Whatever we give out into the universe, we get that back.
Affirmations work to shift our thought patterns from the fundamental subconscious level, which is what leads to real inner change. Affirmations help you release your old limiting beliefs and set you free. When you’re affirming, you’re taking your power back. You’re saying to your subconscious mind that, “I am taking responsibility. I am aware that there is something I can do to change”.
When faced with adversity, most of us choose helplessness, and stay in “victim mode”; we find it easier to complain about our situations or merely accept it as our destiny. But the moment you affirm, you are actually stepping out of your victim role and reclaiming control over your life. You are no longer helpless or powerless, rather taking charge of your own life. Affirmations thus, help redirect and shift your thought patterns, creating new beliefs about your beautiful future. Whatever you affirm today, sets up a new experience for tomorrow.
But you really need to live your affirmations, not just repeat them. Thoughts are powerful, but not without the intent and work that change requires. You have to say, do, think and feel positive for affirmations to really work, because that’s the law of the universe. Louise Hay truly lived her affirmations and thus experienced major transformations in her own life. She wouldn’t just do her affirmations every day in the morning and then forget about it. She affirmed to herself throughout the day, whether it was while getting ready or having her meal. Louise Hay’s favourite affirmation was “Life loves you”. Most us live with old negative thoughts which don’t uplift us, and we tend to believe life is tough. We need to believe that life is really easy. We are all meant to have an amazing life and deserve every bit of happiness. We need to realize that life really does love us, supports us and provides for us all the time. All we have to do is reframe our negative thoughts, say yes to life and be willing to receive the miracles Universe has in store for us. The power is within you to create your beautiful, magnificent, best life.
Few ways you can create your own affirmations:
- Start with the words “I am”
- The words following should describe what you want to have or want to experience
- Write your affirmation as though you are experiencing it right now – as if you have already got what you wished for
- Using, “I want”, or “I need” or “I wish” is a complete NO because it means you are coming from a place of lack
- Write your statements in positive present tense
- Use an emotion or feeling while writing it, for instance, “I am so grateful for — ”, “I am enjoying living in a beautiful house”
Here are some of my favourite affirmations that I do regularly:
I am worthy
I love life
I deserve to have the best life
I am a magnet of miracles
Happiness comes to me easily
I choose positive happy thoughts
I trust the process of life
All is well in my world
I am open and receptive to all good in my life
I am grateful and blessed
As Oprah says, “Create the highest grandest vision possible for your life”. Let’s take back our power and create our destiny. You are the architect of your life. You’ve got a new story to write and this looks nothing like your past.
Written by Amisha Fogla
Amisha Fogla is a motivational speaker and life coaching, primarily working with the youth both through workshops and one-on-one counselling. She’s an internationally certified and licensed Heal Your Life teacher, workshop facilitator, and counsellor. You can follow her work here.
