How Affirmations Work
How is it that a smart, capable person like you is stuck? It's not you failing, it's you missing a key piece: your subconscious. Desires and intentions are great, but without subconscious buy-in, they're just wishful thinking. To fully succeed you need both sides of your brain on board.
In my darkest hour my business was failing, I was losing my house, and grief was heavy. I tried everything: meds, therapy, even an airy-fairy gratitude journal. It didn’t feel like anything was working. I mean, one of my gratitudes was, "Grateful I didn't break anything falling down the stairs." Pathetic, right? Looking at those bleak entries just made me feel worse.
So, I started making stuff up in my journal— "fantasy gratitudes” about financial security, family vacations, and emotional peace. It was pure fiction, but it gave me a little escape. I'd imagine those vacations, even as bills piled up. It was a dopamine hit, a guilty pleasure. The totally insane part? Years later I found that journal and every fantasy had come true. Financial security, vacations, happiness. I was stunned. Could I have manifested it all?
Turns out, I had been practicing Gratitude’s airiest-fairiest cousin, Affirmations! I know, it sounds crazy. I was skeptical too. But it’s true— I, once the debt-ridden, hopeless mom of four, now own a paid-off Range Rover and walk around telling people I’m the Happiest Person in Real Estate.
But How Does It Work?
Affirmations work on your life experience the same way the algorithms work in social media. In your brain, the Reticular Activating System hears what you talk about, notes what you think about, and then goes about bringing more of that into your awareness and life experience. It’s like when you have a casual conversation about Scottish kilts and the next morning you start getting kilt content in your Instagram feed. Keep in mind, though, that your RAS doesn’t make any judgments about the things it opens your eyes to; it’s just an order-taker. So if you dwell on your misfortune and complain about how hard everything is, you’re likely to see more of that in your life. As author Sloane Tanen aptly sums it up: ‘Worrying is like praying for something bad to happen.’ But affirmations done right is how, despite the facts of my ennui and paltry bank account, I eventually completely flipped my reality. Without even realizing it I had actively chosen happiness and you can too.
Affirm Your Best Life into Existence
Spend a few minutes right now fantasizing about your best life. Imagine that all of your hopes and dreams have come true, even if you think they are completely unrealistic. Now start writing these things down in the present tense. This part is important. If you write in the future tense or preceded by ‘I want…’ your brain will literally push the thing out to the future or just intensify your want. You want to program the thing to be presently true. For example, if you want to earn $150,000 a year:
DON’T SAY: I want to earn $150,000 a year.
DON’T SAY: I will earn $150,000 a year.
DO SAY: I earn $150,000 a year.
If you want to add some power to it and make it happen faster, add a few sentences about how you feel now that you make $150,000 a year and what you do with that income. Keep reading and writing these affirmations on a daily basis and watch the opportunities start to present themselves. It’s mind-blowing how simple and effective this is. Have fun with it!