Practicing daily affirmations might seem a little awkward and strange, especially for those who aren’t familiar with it. It can seem silly, to tell yourself how awesome you are, but there is a science to positive affirmations. There is power to practicing daily affirmations and the bottom line, it can help with more than just your mentality.
It can help improve your lifestyle and even influence the way others perceive you. If you’re still a little skeptical, here are a few reasons why you should practice daily affirmations and a few affirmations you could tell yourself every day, for a better outlook on your life.
What Is A Positive Affirmation?
You’ve probably come across a lot of motivational speakers talking about positive affirmations and manifestations. If you have, then you’ll probably know that affirmations are phrases that help motivate you, to do your best. Phrases like “I am beautiful”, “I am strong”, and “I am capable”. These affirmations help to solidify the thought and help you change your mentality.
How To Practice Daily Affirmations
Practicing daily affirmations is really simple and easy. It doesn’t even take up a lot of your time, and you can practice it while you’re doing something else. The first thing you need to do is to choose which affirmations you want to focus on. For some, it could be about work. For others it could be about attracting the right partner. Whatever it is, make sure you focus on that aspect of your life, before you begin the practice.
Once you have your focus, then you can start building your affirmations. As mentioned before, they are mostly short phrases that should be framed positively. So, for example, if your focus is on money matters, and you want to increase your savings, you’ll need affirmations like “I am worthy of making more money” or “Money flows easily and effortlessly into my life”. Build at least three affirmations, to start with. Once you have them, repeat them three times in the morning and three times at night. Do this for as long as you need to, and build on it, should you need an extra boost.
Of course, there are other ways to practice, like writing your affirmations down in a journal, or listening to daily affirmation podcasts. The practice should be meaningful to you, so if one way doesn’t work, you can always try another.
What Does Daily Practice Do?
So, we’ve spoken about the “what” and the “how” of daily affirmation practices, so let’s talk about the “why”. Why should we practice daily affirmations? Well, as we’ve mentioned, daily affirmations can help you change your mentality. Often, our thoughts turn negative because of our daily activities, “I need to do this, because I’ll get fired,” or “What if I get into a car crash, and I can’t pay for the repairs?”, and it is this negative turn that daily affirmations counter.
Because affirmations are framed positively, practicing these affirmations daily will help you think positively, and balance out the negative thoughts that might invade your mind, throughout the day. Essentially, it helps your mentality. It is, after all, a psychological trick.
What Are The Benefits?
There are many benefits to practicing daily affirmations, not least of all, it helps us reduce stress and anxiety. Here’s a list of a few other benefits to practicing daily affirmations:
- It reduces our likelihood of perceiving certain messages as “hostile or “threats”.
- We would be less likely to turn hostile against others, through threatening messages or other harmful means.
- It can increase academic achievement if students practice.
- It can help increase healthy physical behaviors, such as exercising, practicing self-care, eating healthy foods, etc.
Of course, it takes time for these benefits to show themselves, but there can be instances where you’ll feel it almost instantly. For example, if you’re on the phone with a particularly ornery customer, take a moment to practice a session. Simply tell yourself that you are calm, or you are happy to help this customer, or you have the ability to help this customer however they need it. Once you do, you’ll find yourself less on the defense and feeling hostile, and more relaxed and clear-minded.
Other Practice Methods
For the most part, people can be very busy throughout the day, they won’t have time to focus on their affirmations, and you can sometimes forget to say them every day. Don’t worry, there isn’t a set rule to practicing daily affirmations, so even if you miss a day, you can always start the cycle up again the next day. However, if you find yourself constantly missing your practice, then why not try using other methods, like meditation, yoga, or listening to guided podcasts.
More often than not, our attention is on our phones, in our free time, so use that to your advantage, and watch positive affirmation videos, or listen to guided affirmation podcasts. These don’t need to be practiced every day, but you will need to spend some time to focus on these podcasts or videos. They shouldn’t take too long, however, with some videos lasting for about 10 minutes, but if you really want to make the most of your affirmations, there are videos that can last an hour. So, if you can’t practice every day, why not practice once a week, for an hour? Like we said, there aren’t any set rules. Your practice can be what you want it to be. You just need to try.
Start Practicing Today!
Practice makes perfect, and even then, perfect is relative. So, if you want to change your perspective on your life, start practicing your daily affirmations today. There’s no time like the present! However, you choose to practice, always remember that it must be meaningful to you.
No one can tell you how to practice your daily affirmations, because everyone has their own reasons to practice. And if you need a little help, there are plenty of affirmation apps in the app store and you can find affirmations everywhere online, like on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even YouTube. Choose the right affirmation for you, and see what wonders it does to your life.
