Positive affirmations. Is their science behind it?
Positive affirmations, otherwise known as mantras have been around for many many years. They are words or short phrases we repeat over and over again until they become our truth.
A positive affirmation can be absolutely anything that makes you feel good. Perhaps something as simple as the word ‘love’ or ‘hope’. More commonly, they are short sentences that encourage you to show some love or compassion towards yourself. ’I am enough’ is a personal favourite of mine as it encompasses so much in one simple phrase. I am enough can resonate with many different people, no matter their personal situation.
However, there has been studies to suggest that affirmations can cause an inner war. Positive affirmations directly target your conscious level of your mind, but not the unconscious. If what you’re trying to affirm is incongruent with a deeply held negative belief?
This inner conflict can use a great level of energy and thus, some may prefer to use affirmation questioning to resolve this inner war. Instead of, “I will”, you could change too “Will I?” as questioning probes for answers and activates our inner curiosity, reminding us of our own resources and power.
There is no set or forced way of where or when to use your affirmation. You might start by saying it out loud once before bedtime. You may look into the mirror each morning and say it to yourself. Yes, this will feel strange at first, how often do we talk to ourselves in the mirror? In fact, now we mention it when was the last time you stopped in front of a mirror, looked yourself in the eye and said something kind about yourself? Hopefully you do this regularly, but my guess is none of us do this as often as we could.
Eventually affirmations can start to become an integral part of our daily routine. We start to believe the words we are saying about ourselves, it moves from our conscious to unconscious, just like learning the lyrics to a new song. When we say ‘I am beautiful’, it rings true, because it is. When we shout out loud ‘I AM KIND, I AM RESILIENT, I AM ENOUGH’, it becomes a fact, because when we believe in ourselves, when we accept and love ourselves, it beams from us like a ray of sunshine.
It is easy for others to see our positive traits. Affirmations simply help us to see them in ourselves, and that is the true magic. We are all already enough, beautiful, kind and loved.
