How To Change Your Life Using Affirmations

It is a new year and most of us have plans and goals that we want to achieve this year. You may have heard the joke that settings goals is easy the problem comes with taking action to achieve those goals. There are a number of reasons why people fail to take action on their goals. For purposes of this post, we are going to focus on one of those reasons which is self-doubt.

Self-doubt often arises when we have negative thoughts about the goals we have set. From wondering whether you are worthy of the goal you have set to thinking that you do not have the ability or capacity to achieve your goal, negative thoughts affect us all. As human beings, our minds are prone to patterns in order to make sense of what we may be experiencing. Unfortunately, if these patterns are negative they may be what is causing you to have negative thoughts that sabotage your goals. This is when affirmations come in. We have all heard that affirmations are good for us. However, the question most people ask is why is this so and how can they make them work for them.

Before I go into the reasons why affirmations are good, let me share this definition that I came across. \”Affirmations are merely positive declarations of what we believe to be true – truths of what we believe and desire to live by.\”  

My definition of affirmations is words we use to call those things that be not as though they are. They are either words or thoughts or pictures we hold in our minds and believe they will come true. The key word here is to BELIEVE. In order for affirmations to produce the results you desire, you need to believe what you are saying will actually manifest.

Below I make a case of why I believe affirmations are good for you and how you can use them to change any situation in your life.

 

#1. They Help To Create The Life You Desire

When used well, affirmations help us to change our lives by realigning our thoughts and beliefs. They allow us to build and claim what we want over our lives. Literally, affirmations are commands you send to your subconscious mind to say this is what I want to happen to me. They are a two-way street. We can either use them to create what we desire or to eliminate something we do not want. Words are powerful and they can either create or destroy. When you think that the world was created by the use of words it is amazing. God said let there be and there was… Therefore, each time we speak, we are either creating what we want or destroying it.

In order for affirmations to work and create what you desire, you need to own or personalize them. Start with the pronoun I or My. In addition to this, ensure they are in the present tense. This is because affirmations are aimed at the subconscious mind which only accepts commands in the present tense. It is imperative to remember that with affirmations, we are calling what is not as though it already is.

If for example you are currently jobless and are searching for a job. A good affirmation, in this case, can be I have the right skills and experience to get my perfect job.

#2. Affirmations Help You To Manifest God\’s Plan For Your Life

Secondly, affirmations are good for you because they help you manifest the divine plan for your life. In her book,  The Power of the spoken word, Florence Scovel correctly observed thus, \”the idea of your life often flashes across your consciousness as something too good to be true\”. It may then be concluded that after you get a glimpse of these ideas, in the spiritual realm, you can then use affirmations to manifest them in the physical realm.

In order to live the life God intended for us, we have to make it a habit to live in the present moment. Doing this, however, takes practice. Affirmations help us to hone the skill of living in the now.

A good affirmation that can help you do this is I am thankful for my life and God\’s love which endures forever.  You can also say I enjoy and live an abundant and fulfilled life. I behold the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

#3. They Enable You To Get Rid Of The Bad Habits And To Embrace Good Habits Instead

Another reason why using affirmations is good is that they help us begin the change process for our lives. We are able to eradicate in our minds the bad habits and start the journey to embracing good habits. In addition, we can also get rid of negative situations and invite positive ones.

In most cases, negative situations are a result of a crystallized thought. It may be something you are afraid of or doubt or even resentment towards something. When you use an affirmation, this situation can be reversed. The reason is our fears are often built on our imaginations which we can change by speaking positively into our lives.

Let us say for example you have a certain weakness that you struggle with. You are now getting ready to do something and you begin to second guess yourself. Due to this weakness, you begin to feel afraid that you will fail again. Begin by acknowledging that this weakness exists but you are working on it and will get better. An affirmation to use in this case may be I am a work in progress, God is completing the work he began in me.

#4. Affirmations Allow You To Take Your Thoughts Captive

The fourth reason why affirmations are good for you is they help take control of your thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 10:5,  we are commanded to \”take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ\”. We are able to do this by replacing a negative thought with a positive one in the form of an affirmation.

In addition to this, when we use affirmations, we are obeying God\’s word. In Philippians 4:8,  we are called upon to \”think about what is right, pure, lovely and admirable.\” What better way to do this than use an affirmation.  One can safely conclude that if you want to see a change in your life, change what your mind dwells on. The best way to do this is by using affirmations which allow us to answer negative thoughts that creep up in our minds with authority.

Finally, 

It is imperative to remember that affirmations are the exercise our brains need. They enable us to move from a negative or defeated position to one that is positive and filled with hope. Therefore, when you begin to use them, you should be in it for the long haul. Make it a habit to rewire your thoughts and watch what you say and you will manifest in your life what you desire.

In addition, affirmations are not only positive statements, but they are also statements of truth. For this reason, I like to base my affirmations on the word of God because it is the truth and is eternal.

Check out this FREE PRINTABLE Affirmations For Each Day of the Month. You can choose to adopt some of the affirmations if they speak to your situation or come up with some of your own. Do this consistently for an entire month and you will have built a habit.