Affirmations - Why Yours Need To Be Supercharged - Part 1
If you have had any interest in personal development in the last few years, you probably have of the law of attraction which was brought to the mainstream publics attention in the movie, 'The Secret.' This law of the universe basically states that what you focus on and give attention to is what will show up in your life. If you want something and really Believe that you have it, you will begin to take the necessary actions to make it become a reality. There is an old saying that says "I'll believe it when I see it", but that couldn't be more wrong. The truth is, once you really Believe it, then you will most definitely See it.
Our brains are a magnificent store house of every bit of information that we have ever learned or experienced. The way our brains learn something new is by repetition. If you want to learn the lyrics to a new song, you repeat it over and over until you have it. If you want to recite a favorite poem, you do the same. If you want to learn any new behavior, the more you repeat it, the faster you learn. So it makes sense that if you want to believe differently about yourself, you are going to have to teach your mind by repeating what you really want to believe.
That seems logical doesn't it? If you repeat something over and over, your subconscious mind will begin to get the message and agree with you, right? So we make up affirmations about what we want to believe. Affirmations, repeated as often as possible are the mainstay of most self help programs and THE method of choice to 'Fake it until you Make it', and keep a positive attitude, because you are essentially repeating over and over what you want to believe.
OK, that makes sense too. If we all keep repeating affirmations, we'll all be rich and happy, right? Sounds simple enough. So then.... Why aren't we all rich and happy? Because we DON'T KEEP DOING THEM!! At least not long enough for them to take effect. This happens to so many people. I think there are two reasons for this:
1. Deep down we don't really believe what we are affirming to ourselves so unless there is instant change, we lose the momentum, and
2. We don't know how to instantly turn things around when we are thrown into a downward spiral when something happens to upset our plans, and we have no anchor to grab onto, so we stop trying, telling ourselves that 'this doesn't work.'
The main reason we don't keep doing daily affirmations, even though we know repetition is the best way to learn is that the affirmations are aimed at changing deep rooted beliefs. It's not the same as changing your nail polish. Most of our beliefs about ourselves were deeply implanted before we were 7 years old. So if you have a deep belief that money is the root of all evil for instance, you can affirm that you are a millionaire all day long and all you will echo back is " Who are you kidding?" it won't take long before the average person gets bored, too busy or out and out frustrated long before the affirmations can start to work.
Now if you did keep on practicing diligently, you would eventually see a change, but since you belief filters won't allow you to change instantly, most people give up in frustration far too soon. But it's really not your fault, at least not your conscious mind's fault.
You see, your subconscious mind or your ego can be your worst enemy. It likes you just the way you are - warts and all. It doesn't see any need to change, it hates change and when you are trying to change by stating things like - "I am wealthy, healthy and happy" - the subconscious 'Belief Detective' I call it, immediately responds with - "No, we're not. We're broke and depressed and I feel like we're coming down with something". Whether you know it or not, your subconscious mind has been driving the bus all along. It knows how to operate you and doesn't want your interference, thank you very much! If you try to force change, it will give you a million reasons why affirmations are boring or too time consuming or just plain stupid. If you can't get past that 'Belief Detective', or at least realize what is going on, your subconscious mind will win and keep you broke, sick and depressed. Ironically, this is how it thinks it is protecting you. Gee, Thanks!!
So...what you need to do, right now while you are reading this, is to start to think of a way of bypassing the belief filters that stop your affirmations in their tracks. How do you do that? Why not try putting your affirmations in a song. Song lyrics are non threatening to the subconscious mind because you suspend your disbelief while you are singing, much like you might do when you see a movie (Ever seen Shrek?). Besides, once you get a song stuck in your head, you usually sing it over and over and over and not get bored with it, feeding your subconscious on autopilot,. Give it some thought right now and stay tuned for Part 2 where we'll discuss more about how to instantly change your negative attitude.
Debbie Thomas has created AttitudeZapz! Affirmation Jingles. These short, catchy jingles with affirmations built right in will help you keep positive and focused on what you WANT to believe.
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