Even if an affirmation is positive, a statement is not enough to invoke the type of emotion you need to get that thought or phrase to go to work for you; how do you do it?
Affirmations are not just a string of words organized to conceive a coherent positive phrase and hopefully make you feel better about your self. If you are using this literary tool, but you are not getting any results, you miss a big part of their purpose. First of all, anything that gets you up and aware of your cognitive momentum is an affirmation in my book, but it must have one attribute. It must create or cause and then breed emotion.
Some of the most homely phrases you utter during the day are affirmations
Have you ever said to yourself, OK, time to get to work? Did something inside you, no matter how minimal, rise within and cause you to get moving in a productive direction? If it did, then you can consider that an affirmation. In the same vein, have you ever said, “I need to get off my butt and get going because I am better than this,” only to stay on the couch and watch another hour of TV?
Words are not the catalyst of an affirmation; emotions are. Find ideas, visions, or even music, which creates a feeling and brings about stories. It's like writing the music first and then writing the lyrics, which is always the way I write a song. The thought or sound inevitably will induce a feeling which will be your impetus for creating the affirmation. Once you have done it that way, reciting that affirmation will forever recreate the emotion it was born from and truly work for you and produce the expected results.
It is not the words that bring about the emotion until the emotion has first brought about the words. A great example of this is the famous phrase, “We Are Marshall.” Many collegiate and professional institutions use this phrase, but none as famous as the Marshal football program, who first recited it as a show of solidarity for the significant loss of their entire football team and coaches. It was boar out of great sorrow and emotion and, to this day, is a chant that will forever affirm the greatness of the way that institution stood strong for their fallen. I get emotional just thinking about what it means and how its mere utterance can cause a flood of emotion to press on to honor the lost lives.
How music can play a significant role
I will tell you straight out. I cannot write creatively or contemplatively without my music. Could you imagine a movie without music? Even silent films had piano accompaniment. It raises the emotion in critical scenes, and without it, movies would be incredibly dull. So it is with the soundtrack of your day, your actions, your life; get one. I mean, roll with music or at least sounds that put you in that space of “Yeah.”
When I get up and engage in my morning routine, I have a playlist, and the first thing I do is turn it on. Over time I have created many affirmations that have personal meaning and are emotionally driven. When I recite them with my music in the background, it is a compelling way to begin my day.
When I write, I have a channel on Pandora that I have developed over their years, and I call it atmospheric. It is movie soundtracks and scores. I could not imagine writing without it.
I go on walks and listen to many music genres, but sometimes I get so wrapped up in the song that I imagine being in a music video. The thoughts that come through are powerful, and I don't take them lightly. I realize many of my successes come from those walks. Sometimes in solitude but most of the time with good music pumping through my veins.
These thoughts became regular affirmations. They were born in emotion, codified with music, and forever ingrained in my brain. No matter how much I try down the road, I can't unthink these affirmations. I could never become a victim at this point in my life in a million years. I have spent two many years developing the belief that I have all the ability I need to do anything I want to do, and it is all on me. If you don't think like that, I am sorry.
Many folks look for pleasure in travel and gifts and other vices. As a recovered alcoholic, I certainly relate, and of course, I still love those diversions, but I see them in a different light now. Now I find my joy in discovery and opportunity. I realize more potential in my research, trek, and adventures each time I encounter a new possibility and explore it.
The constant concoction of emotional affirmations has played the main
role in this transformation, accompanied by my music.
If it doesn't ring true, don't affirm it just because
I rarely focus on the negative part of a subject, and this isn't strictly a negative as much as it is a warning. I will share the negative in the form of a positive; trust your gut.
Rely on your intuition almost entirely. If someone is out there pushing a system of belief, even if it is positive, but it doesn't mesh with your axioms, let it go, and most of all, don't worry about missing out. You know more about your process and journey more than anyone. I will be happy to share my affirmations, but I never suggest them. These assets you and you alone must develop.
Detach from the result with abandon; act on your intuitive engine
I have many digital assets, blogs, and the like. Some make money, and some don't. Is my general goal to develop blogs that generate revenue? Yes, of course. However, my main thrust is to tell the story I want to tell. I share what is important and what works for me. I do this because I read others who do the same, get ideas, and then explore them. Some workout, so I continue to research and perfect them, and some don't, so I walk away knowing I learned one more thing that doesn't work for me.
Most of all, I do not do or write something because I am expecting a specific outcome or result. I have a general idea of the direction I am going in, but I am surprised by the results all the time. When things happen in a way that sits well with me, I do more of that. If I do something that does not get an expected result, which occurs just as often, I do less of that. I don't force action on a consequence that is not manifesting. Remember doing something the same way repeatedly and expecting a different result is insanity.
Affirmations become core beliefs
Above I said that I never could become a victim or have what I call “Victim Mentality.” I know this because I have practiced my affirmations for so long that they have become my core beliefs. One of them is, “I think on purpose, I speak on purpose, I act on purpose, I live on purpose.” Given that statement that I recite almost 365 days a year and have done so for nearly two years now, I don't think I will wake up one day and decide the whole world is against me, and I have no control over my destiny. That would be akin to waking up and suddenly deciding our planet is flat.
Again coming from chemical dependency to recovery, I have experienced both sides of this coin. I know that creating and having specific thoughts leads to attitudes that compel my actions, which build my character. It is not rocket science, nor is it mystical nonsense either. Please don't get me wrong, miracles happen all the time in my life, but they happen because I follow a set of laws that I believe in, act accordingly, execute everything within my power and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.
This process includes developing and evolving the affirmations that I have created over the years and consistently reciting and internalizing them. Over time they become my core beliefs.
The benefits are enormous. Because I think and act this way, not only does it make it impossible for me to have a victim mentality, but it continually ferments and nurtures my gratitude for life itself. It begets a self-perpetuating process that creates more emotion, discovers more affirmations, and builds daily confidence for anything I choose to do or become in my life.
Don't just borrow and recite affirmations; develop and live them
Affirmations need to be personal living and breathing mission statements. When I make a statement like, “I am the director of my life,” that is not some romantic and idealistic conception of some mythical character that sits far off in my wishful imagination. It is a statement that believes wholeheartedly in the words' substance. It means I am in control. If I am going to accomplish anything, I will have to take a stand and execute a plan. I will have to trust and believe in my philosophy, I will have to be grateful for the opportunity, and I will enjoy the discovery and commission of my actions and make sure I carry them out. All of this occurs when I make that simple statement.
So many times, folks make statements or have aspirations that are mere utterances of vocabulary. I am not immune; I have done this as well. Now I look to what I am saying and keep myself honest. I don't just go off half-cocked and say I am the director of my life and then become the audience. It is unacceptable at this stage of my journey. Instead, I take small steps and make rational declarations and see how well I can carry them out. I set tasks to complete and my goals result. I do not mean to say that I don't aspire to things I would like to achieve in life; of course, I do. However, if I set a task, no one can stop me from completing that task. I am the director of that task, and in this regard, I must concern myself with the result because I am the only one who determines whether or not it gets done. There are no extenuating circumstances, no excuses for not acting. If I complete enough tasks, my goals take care of themselves. My daily tasks or actions come from my thoughts, which create my behavior and build my character, remember? I can set all the goals I want, but if I don't make the affirmations, which are the foundations for the actions I need to take, and then take them, goals become a moot point.
So creating living affirmations gets things done, and that is how they work for you. They fester in your soul, grow in your heart, and manifest in your personality. It's funny, but my only real goal in life is to enjoy it, no matter what, and I am certainly doing that.
