The Truth About Why Affirmations Don't Always Work: How to Make it Work for You
4 Practices to Make Affirmations that Actually Work
Have you ever wondered why many often profess their praises for the transformative practice of affirmations?
Only to come up short practically every time you attempted to do the same. Perhaps you’ve read the books, and attended the workshops, to no avail. Or, just maybe out of sheer frustration you’ve surrendered to the fact just maybe this practice wasn’t meant for you.
Whatever the case may be, know that you are not alone. This post will outline the most common reasons why affirmations often don’t work, and provide alternate practices to support you to manifest your desires.
Affirmations Demystified
Affirmations promise to provide us access to our untapped potential. After all, who wouldn’t want to tap into a practice that empowers you to completely transform your life for the better, with just a few short steps? Aside from repeatedly affirming statements that clearly states your desired intention, it literally seems as if it couldn’t get any easier. Most if not all are more than willing to create space within their daily routine to allow for this practice.
Understandably this is why many are more than willing to access practically every piece of information and resource they possibly get their hands on, making it one of the most widely used practices. From self-help books, podcasts, webinars, workshops, masterclasses, TED Talks, and every other accessible medium, there is an overabundance of resources that all, profess the many success stories of others who have experienced transformative success. Only many, self-included, often fall short of actualizing their intentions. Often leaving many to wonder, where they went awry. Like with most things in life, if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, again.
Interestingly, many do just that, and persistently work, and rework their approach, to achieve their intended goal. Only, for most, the inability to master the practice often results in apprehension, and frustration, as well as every other possible energetically charged emotion that could potentially call into question whether this practice is in fact intended for them.
How Do Affirmations Work?
To affirm is to confidently state what you believe is an undeniable truth. In the case of affirmations, one must affirm what they personally believe to be true with conviction.
There are many beautifully curated statements, and quotes, that likely mirror the true essence of your desired intention. Perhaps it summarizes a future intention of which you intend to manifest when feel that you’re ready, or maybe it represents what you’d like to adopt and embody as a belief.
Whatever the case may be, the practice calls for you to affirm what you currently believe is true. Although this concept is simple, in no way is it easy. We are all spiritual beings having a human incarnation. This empowers us to think, outside of circumstances. Interestingly, you can experience sub-optimal situations and circumstances, which in every sense of the word are in exact opposition to what you believe, and use the power of your imagination to feel into your desired state.
As spiritual beings, we have the ability to close our senses to everything external to our inner world and feel into our desired state, regardless of what our senses may outwardly affirm. In other words, our objective world can be and often is in exact opposition to our intention from a low bank account balance, and a shitty boss, to a job that literally and figuratively makes you cringe the moment you step into the office, as well as everything else in between that, misaligns with your external reality. However, the key is to use your imagination to completely feel yourself into the desired state, remaining faithful, and steadfast to the feeling of attainment until it materializes.
Allow yourself to truly explore what you are seeking to invite into your experience. Explore the depths of what it will truly feel like to actualize your desired experience, and affirm your truth in written form.
Designate time to rest in quiet solitude, and shift your awareness away from your external experience, and onto your desired state. Naturally, your awareness will habitually be drawn to the objective truth of your current external reality. However, the key is to reference your written affirmations as many times as need be, on a daily consistent basis. Be it morning, noon, or night, and everything else in-between allow it serve as a reminder of what you're seeking to invite into your experience. Simply allow yourself to live in the desired outcome.
Repetition is key. However, don’t allow yourself to get caught up in a cycle of repeatedly reciting a set of empty words, and phrases, without feeling into the energy of truth behind it. Feel, speak, and repeat it.
Repeat it aloud, allowing the feeling of the wish fulfilled to emanate through your being. Allow yourself to feel that your desired state is in fact your current reality. Completely surrender to the end goal, feeling into every felt emotion, and sensation of which your imagination grants you to experience. Feel into the wonderous joy that resides in the now moment, not in some far off time point, but in your present experience.
Unlike most things in our lives, when it comes to manifestation, the actual process that specifically outlines details of how it will come into fruition is not our concern. For the the ways of the Divine are beyond the scope of our awareness. Simply, release the need to control the how, and allow the universe to deliver you its best.
How to Make Affirmations Work For You?
1. Journey within to identify and explore your intention
Determine your end goal. Designate time to detach from your external world, and distractions, to feel into what you’re seeking to invite into your experience.
2. Explore whether your desired state aligns with your belief
Affirmations affirm an undeniable truth. Therefore, what you craft must align with your beliefs. For instance, if you affirm that all of your needs are met. This statement is inclusive of all physical, mental, emotional, and physiological, as well as every other human need, you must truly go within to feel into the frequency of all needs met.
Naturally the mind will stray in attempt to confirm it’s misalignment with objective facts. Don’t lose focus. Gracefully grant yourself permission to detach from all tangible evidence that misaligns with your intended belief.
At its core, your affirmation must affirm what you are able to imagine, feel, accept, believe, and accept as your present truth. In other words, your written truth must align with your felt belief.
3. Curate A Clearly Defined Affirmation that Aligns with Your Beliefs
It’s ok to be inspired by a widely shared quote. Ensure that you personalize what you elect to believe, accept, and affirm as true. Create a clearly defined statement that well defines your desired state. Beyond words, it must capture the essence of what you presently believe, and accept as true.
For instance, if your bank account is overdrawn, you must be able to completely detach yourself from objective facts, and feel into your desired state. Likewise, you may affirm that you are wealthy beyond measure. In order for this affirmation to be fruitful, you must be able to feel that you are presently wealthy regardless of the fact that your account may objectively affirms otherwise.
4. Repeat as Often as Needed
Repetition is key. However, not in the sense of mechanically repeating a series of hollowed words and phrases without meaning. Repeat aloud with the underlying feeling of your wish fulfilled. Reference it as often as needed.
The mind will naturally gravitate towards using your senses to confirm your intention with confirming your intention with objective fact. However, the key to remaining faithful to your desired state is to revisit your affirmation anytime you feel overcome by your current experience. Simply tap into the feeling of the wish fulfilled, by affirming with conviction at each cycle of repetition.
The more you confidently affirm your present truth aka affirmation with conviction , the more likely you are to actualize your intentions. Rest assured that the practice of affirmations is accessible to all who seek it. However, the feeling is the secret to manifestation.
Remember you are not just human, you are a Divine Spiritual creative being with the unbound ability to manifest your hearts desire.