Affirmations: A Brand New Technique (That’s Actually Been Around ForEVER!)

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I just heard something really cool about affirmations and I knew you’d be blown away by, too.

I just heard an interview by Brendon Burchard, a popular high performance coach, who talked about some of the research he’s concluded on peak achievement. In a small section of the interview he talked about the surprising things he and his research team discovered about affirmations.

We’ve all heard that affirmations need to be in the present tense, need to be positive, and need to be “I” statements. You and I debunked a little of this when we talked before about how negative affirmations can be just as powerful as positive ones, such as Scarlet O’Hara’s statement at the end of Gone with the Wind, “…I’ll never be hungry again!”

In speaking to thousands of high performing international business people and world-class athletes from around the world, Brendon Burchard’s research has debunked another “truth” about affirmations: they must be “I” statements. He and his team concluded that affirmations are more powerful when they are stated in the second or third person, instead of the first person.

For instance, here is a positive statement in the first person: “I am so lucky to be doing work I love. I am honored to be helping others. I feel great when I have a positive impact on others, helping them improve their lives.”

Here is that same statement in the second person: “Brendon, you are so lucky to be doing the work you love. You are so honored to be helping others. You feel great when you have a positive impact on others, helping them improve their lives.”

Here’s the same statement in third person: “Brendon is so luck to be doing work he loves. Brendon is honored to be helping others. He feels great when he has a positive impact on others, helping them improve their lives.”

Which new technique feels more comfortable for you, statements in the second person or in the third person? I think I prefer second person.

I’m going to give this a try and I’ll let you know how it goes. Join me and let me know how it goes for you! Thanks!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren

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Affirmations: What If They’re Truly Not Working?

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Yesterday we talked about our lives seeming to get worse when we use affirmations, sometimes causing us to think that affirmations don’t work. Today, let’s talk about what to do if our affirmations truly are not working.

At all.

No worries! All is not lost!

Here are two things to do with your affirmations:

~Tweak them.

Perhaps they are too far down the road. Even though we think we formulated affirmations for just a few steps ahead, perhaps those steps are bigger than we realized and, as a result, our affirmations are trying to push us to take too big of a step or a step we aren’t ready to take. Break your affirmations into little steps.

~Leave some room, some air, in them for Magic.

Perhaps the affirmations we made are too structured, too defined, and there’s no room for unexpected better things to come along. For instance, I have a friend who talks to the Universe and says what she’s striving for and gives what she thinks is the best course of action, but then she says that she’s leaving the actual “how” of it in the Universe’s hands. Sure enough, more often than not, something unexpected usually happens and it’s something she never thought of–and it’s usually better in some way. Give your affirmations some elbow room to work out!

 

Above all, keep going! Keep taking steps and affirming that everything is working out for you!

Give these two suggestions a try when you hit a rough patch with your affirmations. Let me know how they work out for you. Thanks!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Affirmations: These Things Are Making My Life Fall Apart!!

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We like the explanation of affirmations, how they work, and how to implement them in our lives. We’re excited to start working with them in this new way.

But what happens when we’re beginning to lose hope because, instead of getting better, it seems that our life is getting worse!

What are we supposed to do then?

Don’t give up! Don’t stop! Don’t throw in the towel and quit!

Having things falling apart is actually a good thing and is showing us that the affirmations and our efforts are working. We’re making progress, believe it or not.

This is a very similar situation as when we do any remodeling on our kitchens. Walls may have to come down, cabinets and old fixtures have to come out first before the new counters and appliances and flooring can go in.

This is what’s happening when things fall apart in our lives. The old habits, old attitudes, and old routines have to come apart and make way–make room–for the new.

Hang in there! Keep going! Take the next step!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Affirmations: The Secret to Crafting Ones that Work!

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Yesterday we talked about the science of what makes affirmations work and a way to think of them. Today let’s talk about how to use this information, how to apply it to our lives.

For ease of illustration, let’s say that you’ve determined that owning a mansion is part of crafting a soul-prospering life for yourself. However, your current situation is that you’re living in a one-room apartment and cooking on a hotplate. You’ll agree that your one room is a far cry from a multi-room mansion!

No worries, you CAN get there! Read on to learn how!

I’m sure you’ve heard that if you hold in mind the affirmation about the mansion of your dreams, it will come to you. This can happen, it’s entirely possible. Some people have done this. However, more often than not, most people become disheartened and give up.

Does this mean that affirmations only work for only a few people who are somehow superior or extraordinary in some way?

Nope. Not at all. Affirmations can work for you, too.

The critical component of making affirmations work for you is crafting ones that are believable. This means that although your end-goal dream is to live in a mansion, you’ll have to break this down–make baby step affirmations–in order to achieve your ultimate goal.

So, you’d craft affirmations that stretching and challenging you but only to get a few steps farther down the path you’re on–not leaps and bounds ahead. Once you achieve this baby step affirmation, you can then make another one for a few steps beyond where you’ll be at that time. Keep doing this and you’ll see that through baby step affirmations, you’ll arrive at your mansion!

To give an example of how this would work, this means your affirmation would be about a one-bedroom apartment. Let’s say you’ve found a complex that you like, the Park Street Apartments. Here’s a sampling of the affirmations you might repeat to yourself:

~I’m excited to move into my Park Street Apartment!

~I love the view out the picture window in the living area!

~My Park Street apartment is sunny and there’s room enough for me to set up a reading area complete, with a comfy chair and small bookcase right by the windows!

~I have plenty of room for friends and family to visit here at my Park Street apartment and I love it!

~I love that I have a separate bedroom and I have a kitchen with appliances!

~I love the elbow room in my Park Street apartment!

 

The affirmations in this example are believable not only to your conscious mind, but also your subconscious mind–a very important component! Because these are believable, you can get behind them and whole-heartedly work toward this goal. These affirmations will motivate you over time–they’re sustainable.

The key is to choose affirmations that energize you to move a few steps ahead of where you are now but are not so far ahead that they wind up demoralizing you rather than motivating you.

Let me know how this process works for you. I’ll be glad to answer any questions you have and help you come up with affirmations that work for you.

You can do it!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Affirmations: They Don’t Work…Or Do They?

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When I talk about affirmations, I get two responses:

(1) “You gotta be kidding me! That stuff is stupid; it doesn’t work!!!!”

(2) “Cool! How do I do this because I want to attract wealth and abundance!”

These responses clearly indicate to me that people don’t understand affirmations and how they work.

Let me set the record straight: 

(1) Affirmations DO work

(2) They aren’t magical

 

Cutting edge neurological studies are proving that repeating positive statements, holding a particular thought during meditation, prayer, and other forms of affirmations actually change firing patterns in the brain, which changes the chemistry, which then influences thought, which is the precursor to behaviors and actions, which then can lead us to create effective changes in our lives.

Okay. This is a somewhat technical explanation of how and why affirmations work. To put this in practical terms, repeated affirmations are like cleaning your brain.

Think of it like a very stubborn spot on a favorite shirt; you might have to wash it several times using a few different products in order to get the spot out.

So, too, with affirmations. If you want to change, you must do something about the habitual way in which your brain processes information. Through repeated affirmations, you “clean” your brain of the habitual ways of thinking, replacing it with the affirmation.

Keep in mind:  

(1) They aren’t magic so you won’t get instant change

(2) Working with affirmations takes time for lasting results

 

By the way, to learn more about the neurological basis of affirmations, read the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza.   I think you’ll find his work very interesting. Let me know what you think of it.  Thanks!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Affirmations: An Inspiring Poem

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Let’s get the week started right. This poem reminds us what’s important, and it isn’t what the world tells us is right and valuable. It’s what our own hearts and souls tell us.

MY CREED

  To live as gently as I can;
  To be, no matter where, a man/woman;
  To take what comes of good or ill
  And cling to faith and honor still;
  To do my best, and let that stand
  The record of my brain and hand;
  And then, should failure come to me,
  Still work and hope for victory.

  To have no secret place wherein
  I stoop unseen to shame or sin;
  To be the same when I’m alone
  As when my every deed is known;
  To live undaunted, unafraid
  Of any step that I have made;
  To be without pretense or sham
  Exactly what men think I am.

  To leave some simple mark behind
  To keep my having lived in mind;
  If enmity to aught I show,
  To be an honest, generous foe,
  To play my little part, nor whine
  That greater honors are not mine.
  This, I believe, is all I need
  For my philosophy and creed.

~Edgar A. Guest

 

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Laure

Crafting a Soul-Prospering Life: Presume It’s Your Destiny Calling You

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People are often amazed.

They say to me that they have no idea what a soul-prospering life would look like for them. They tell me they’ve been searching all their lives and they feel they’re no closer to discovering it than when they first started looking.

When I tell them that living their soul-prospering life is much less complicated than what they think, and that it’s probably been right in front of their nose this whole time, they are amazed, astonished, and, quite frankly, don’t really believe me.

It’s true, though.

In fact, you’ve probably been skirting around it for years or even pursuing it as a hobby. You’ve pooh-poohed it, though, because it’s too easy or too much fun or you think you couldn’t make a living doing it or it isn’t practical…. The list of seemingly well-founded reasons goes on. As we discussed earlier this week, this is fear dressed up in its Reasonable and Logical and Responsible clothes.

But all it does is keep you stuck, and yearning, and wishing…and unhappy because you know you have so much more inside.

What do you do about this?

You take 15 – 20 minutes of quiet, uninterrupted time and answer the following questions, but do NOT let the Practical Pete/Pam part of your mind interfere!

~What do I love doing or what do I enjoy doing?

~If making a living weren’t a consideration, what would I love to do or what do I think I’d enjoy doing?

 

Yes, yes I know you’ve seen these questions before but you thought your answers were so ridiculous, pie-in-the-sky, impractical, and just plain old nuts that you thought it was a worthless, time-wasting exercise.

First of all, before doing this exercise you agreed to ignore Practical Pete/Pam. Second of all, within these crazy, wacky ideas are the seeds of your soul-prospering life!!

If you want to live a soul-prospering life, you MUST take these unrealistic, outlandish ideas seriously!!!

Of course do your homework and your due diligence, but do it in a way that helps you take baby steps towards your dreams, NOT in a way that shoots down your dreams!!!

You just don’t know how things are going to work out. Remember my friend who’s the avid knitter–we talked about her on Tuesday. She thought her “regular” job would have to support her knitting passion but, as she followed her heart and didn’t worry about the money, she found that her knitting paid for itself. In spite of the fact that she was giving away a much of her knitting the charitable organizations she founded and others she was affiliated with, not only did the knitting pay for itself in real dollars and cents, but there was even money left over!

My advice is to presume that your dreams are your Destiny calling to you and to keep reaching, stretching, and moving toward it.

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren