Affirmations; those short, positive statements about yourself or your goals… Émile Coué (French psychologist), developed the modern concept of Affirmations and used them with Autosuggestion to help his patients.
By consciously using Autosuggestion with positively phased Affirmations, he observed that his patients could cure themselves more efficiently. By replacing their “thought of illness” with a new “thought of a cure”.
But if deep down you don’t believe it, if in your heart you know it’s not true, it’s not going to come true for you. This is why the imagination (the full use of thoughts and feelings) is important.
“Curing someone of their troubles requires a change in their unconscious thought, which can be achieved only by using our imagination” Émile Coué
Neuroplasticity is the ability for the brains neural networks to grow and reorganize. Or simply put, it’s your brain’s ability to learn, change and adapt. Studying Neuroplasticity reveals what makes affirmations work… and how to make them more effective.
Neuroplasticity: When we learn new things, or repeat specific thoughts and behaviors the brain forms new neural pathways… and strengthens existing ones.
Affirmations: repeating positive statements about yourself or goals strengthen those positive neural pathways. Over time, this leads to a shift in your beliefs, self-perception and behaviours.
Think of it like exercise:
Repetitive physical exercise strengthens muscles.
Repetition of positive affirmations strengthens positive neural pathways in the brain.
How to: 5 Key Points for Making Affirmations Work
Point 1: It has to be something that you know you can achieve (becoming a billionaire/best author in the world is ‘possible’ but start with millionaire or completing your first book to begin with), something that is possible. It has to be within your ‘Sphere of Availability’, you have to be able to feel it and get good feelings about it.
Point 2: It has to be set in the present tense. “I’m open to new ideas, new opportunities, and ready to adapt to new beliefs that are aligning with my core values and desires…”
Point 3: You need to create a Clear Mental Image (CMI) of it. The phrase CMI, like ‘visualize’, is a little misleading… you need to be able to see it, hear it and feel it. It needs to be like it’s already part of your being/experience.
This activates the same areas of the brain that actually experiencing these things would. These are similar to Well-formed Outcomes in NLP.
Point 4: Repetition. Make your routine constant. Make it a practice not just a theory. You don’t get a six-pack by exercising just once.
Point 5: Gratitude. Add some energy to it… “emotion is energy in motion…” Most importantly *Enjoy the repetition :))
Follow these five points and you’ll have much more success with affirmations.
Find out more about Emile Coué’s Autosuggestion additions in the Blog Post: The Art and Science of Autosuggestion, its Historical Roots and the ‘How to’
Secrets of Hypnosis Workshop: Autosuggestion and Self-Hypnosis. It’s not just a workshop… Registration NOW OPEN.
