inspiring words

If you affirm ‘I am an abundant person’, ten times in the morning (an excellent idea!) but then continue for the rest of the day worrying about your financial situation, you are unlikely to see any positive change. This is because of internal incongruity. We all have an internal running dialogue, and for the most part, full of porous thoughts, (this is a term I use for thoughts that leak away our energy), such as, ‘I can’t seem to make enough money’, ‘why does this always happen to me’, ‘how come I never got what he got?’ that kind of thing. And this continuous drip-drip self talk really puts your best intentions on low heat.

So how do we get inspiring words to permeate our thoughts most of the time?


Affirmations
Are they the panacea or not ?

Let’s talk about affirmations in the context of internal dialogue and inspiring words. Affirmations are positive statements, of good intent, designed to change a habit or manifest something we want in life. In their truest sense they are a form of inspiring words. They may have begun in the modern era with Emile Coue’s now famous adage, ‘every day in every way I’m getting better and better’, a statement, that many have claimed changed their lives. Affirmations are huge in New Age circles, and while I don’t wish to discourage anyone from using them, I don’t entirely rely on them.

If you are going to use affirmations the advice is to remember the three Ps, personal, positive, and present tense.

Let’s examine these in turn:

Keep it Personal

First up, inspiring words are about you, not somebody else. For example, if you want to find love you would say,

I now attract the perfect mate into my life.

Not,

Suzi Watson will fall madly in love with me.

That’s entering someone else’s energy space, and for starters you have no right, but on a practical level it probably won’t work because Suzi Watson has her own life path, and you can’t change hers, you can only change your own.


Second, they must be in the positive voice

I now enjoy a healthy lifestyle, daily exercise, and feeling great.

Not,

I’m going to get rid of my fat belly and big bum.

The second statement forces you to dwell on the negative, not on being fit and healthy. Hardly inspiring words?


And lastly, they must be in the present tense.

I am now becoming rich and successful doing what I love.

Not,

I will become rich and successful doing what I love.

When? tomorrow, next week? Never? The latter gives your brain a let out clause.


What about I am . . . the great affirmation of life, the great yes to life.


Well, I love the I am affirmation, they are truly inspiring words, but it’s advised not to use it if the goal is still a bit out of reach. For example, if you say ‘I am a millionaire’ every morning and you have a pile of unpaid bills lying on the table, then, it’s probably unbelievable.

‘I am becoming’, is okay, even if it is slightly future tense.

Therefore, you could say,

I’m on my way to becoming a millionaire.

or

every day I take a step closer to my goal of financial independence.

It’s advised too that you avoid the word ‘not’ in an affirmation, for example, try

My goal is to make $100,000 this year and I will succeed.

Instead of

My goal is to make $100,000 this year and I will not fail.

The argument here is that the brain does not register the word ‘not’, therefore it reads the sentence as ‘My goal is to make $100,000 this year and I will fail’. (I’m not so sure about that one though, I think the brain is way smarter.) But if you do plan on doing affirmations it’s best practice to follow the tried and tested formula.


How to get started with affirmations?

Well, you will find hundreds of ready-made affirmations in any self help book, although it’s better to think up your own. After all, these can be tailored to your specific wants and needs. Or you could always try our own wisdom quotes although these are not affirmations in the strictest sense of the word. However, many of these inspiring words would serve as great motivational thoughts with which to start your day. When I was compiling them I tried to find ones that were less known and particularly thought provoking.

Best practice

(yes, do!!)
People use affirmations in different ways. Some say them in the morning and again before going to bed, often standing in front of a mirror and speaking them aloud. I know people who set their watch or cell phone at certain times throughout the day, maybe on the hour, to remind them to stop and do their inspiring words. It’s up to you.

Personally I don’t use affirmations often, but when I do, the method I prefer is to repeat the new thought over and over, all day if possible. This means saturating your mind with it, and helps avoid lapsing back into the old thinking. Keep the sentence short and snappy for this method.

Getting specific

Now, if your intention is goal driven, then you need to be very clear on what your goals are, take some time to think these through. Probably the main reason why people believe they fail at something is because they don’t really know what they want in the first place. If you want to target specific goals it’s best not to have too many, as too many could mean you lose focus. Work on three, five tops, at any one time. Also make sure your goals are realistic. I’m going to win the lottery, by next Tuesday, probably isn’t a good idea. Unless you really believe you can do that.

Need to try General ?

Sometimes general affirmations work better than specific ones. Emile Coue is a good example of what I mean. This kind of affirmation isn’t demanding a specific outcome, and can have multiple benefits. It’s not time sensitive. You’re not going to go ‘when is this going to show up in my life’. It allows the universe to come in and give you what you really need. Affirmations can be “sticky”, in a world of instant gratification. Give it time, and don’t make the outcome important. Detach yourself from the outcome. If it’s not in your path you won’t manifest it anyway.

Write out your inspiring words

It is recommended you write out affirmations, or inspiring words. When we put something down on paper we are making a commitment to it, we’re serious about following through. It’s like a contract with ourselves. Also, don’t pin your goal down to one source. When you do that you cut off the flow of it coming to you from another place. It’s better not to decide how a thing is going to come about, only that it is. In that way you put out your request to the universe and allow it to give it to you in the way it knows best. When it comes to manifesting the important thing is allowing, allowing it to come to you. This is the part people have most difficulty with. They can ask, they can pray, they can demand, but they can’t allow themselves to receive.

Do you need a response column ?

Some people use a response column. The way to do this is take a page and draw a line down the center of it. Write the affirmation on one side, and on the other side put down the first feeling or ‘reaction’ that comes up. If the statement is, ‘my goal is to make $100,000 this year’, your first reaction may be, ‘rubbish, I never made anything near that’. Then write out the statement again, followed by its immediate response.

The theory, at least, goes that eventually you will get to, ‘well, maybe’, then, ‘okay’, and finally, ‘Yippee! I can do it.’

Personally, I never found this method any use. I think it’s a recipe to fight with yourself.

What about using affirmations to rewrite old scripts?

Emm? I’m glad you asked. If you intend to use affirmations to this end then there’s a very specific way to go about it. If, for instance, the pattern is low self esteem, the method is to take this script and invert it with an affirmation such as,

I am now brimming with confidence.

Okay. I’m not entirely comfortable with this approach to deeply held patterns and scripts. I think, in that case, there needs to be some work done as well. Sometimes there’s a tendency to sugar over a problem with a nice affirmation. On the USS we advocate getting unscripted, but that’s beyond the remit of this article. And the above method is useful as an aid to doing work on the particular issue.

If affirmations are your thing, it’s nice to finish off with a rounded one that honors all concerned. For example,

“This, or something greater will now come about,
In an easy an relaxed manner,
In a healthy and positive way,
In its own perfect time,
for the highest good of all.”

I think it was Catherine Ponder who originally came up with this, although I could be mistaken, (I’m quoting Marc Allen) so if I’m wrong don’t hesitate to let me know on contact us I just find it so beautiful, and appreciative of other possibilities, as it allows the greater good to come about. Trust me, this is what will come about anyway.

Like I said, repeating affirmations alone is pretty useless if the rest of the day your mind is locked in worry and doubt. These will fill your mind with porous, debilitating thoughts, that at best neutralize your inspiring words. The real way around this, and to become unscripted, is to develop mindfulness. Which will be the subject of a feature coming shortly.

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