Change Your Thinking With Affirmations & Visualizations
Photo by Sydney Jackson on Unsplash.
Negative thoughts and emotions are something that many of us grapple with. At times, it can seem as if our minds are in a constant state of anxiety and worry. The energy we put into these thoughts push us to view our lives through a lens that can often hinder our ability to grow, learn, and generally see the brighter side of things. We get so used to these thought patterns that we forget what it feels like to experience positive thinking and the wonderful effects it has on our brains.
Negative thought patterns are an endless cycle. One bad thought leads to another, and soon we find ourselves in a downward spiral. When we allow our minds to give in to these cycles, we are pulling ourselves away from one very important thing - peace of mind. Affirming and visualizing positive thoughts and events can help to break this cycle and get you back into a space of clarity and peace.
How to Practice Affirmations
Speak It Into Existence
Affirmations are simple to practice, and there’s really only one rule: you’ve got to flow positive energy into your statement. The first step is to identify an area in your life that you would like to improve your feelings around. For example, say you’d like to set an intention to have a wonderful day, regardless of any circumstances. You would simply say:
“I, [insert first name], already believe that I am going to have a wonderful day. Thank you, it’s already done, show me.”
The second sentence is what allows you to solidify the affirmation in your mind, thanking the Universe because you already believe it to be true. There are many ways to recite affirmations. My favorite method that’s used above is from Susie Pearl, author of Instructions for Happiness and Success.
After saying the affirmation, step two is to take a deep breath. It allows you to breathe in the positive energy in the air after stating your affirmation and breathe out any negativity that you were holding on to before. By repeating affirmations, it trains the mind to think more positively. Instead of beginning the day dreading what lies ahead, we can stop ourselves and frame our thoughts differently. One might say that you create your reality based on your mentality, and saying affirmations is a way to do that.
Visualize Your Desires
Taking it one step forward, visualizations paired with affirmations are an even more powerful force for changing your thinking. Visualization is a lot easier than one might think. For example, think about the last time you had a burger. Where did you eat it? Did you dine in or eat out? Were you with friends? By the time you assemble all those details, you’ve got yourself a full on visualization in your mind. For affirmations, you must visualize in your head what you would like to create in your reality. Along with affirmations, these allow you to bring to life in your head what you’re speaking. While saying an affirmation, think about what it would look like in real life and concentrate on that thought.
By affirming and visualizing your desires, it creates a shift in your reality and your mood. What you want is attainable, it’s just a matter of speaking it into existence. Plus, once you speak it into existence it tends to motivate you to follow through with actions. Believing that your desires have already come true puts you in a place where your mind has already decided to be in a more positive space. It can be so easy to change your reality and pull more positive energy towards you simply by affirming and visualizing your desires.
Does it really work?
Once you get into a flow of practicing affirmations and visualizations frequently, they become incredibly rewarding. From small things like affirming a great day ahead to bigger goals like getting that promotion at work ––the stuff works. By focusing on positive things that you’d like to see happen in your life instead of negative things that leave you anxious, your thoughts will begin to shift naturally and so will your actions. It becomes something that’s a reflex, rather than something you feel the need to try hard to do.
If you find yourself spiraling down that dark hole of a negative mindset, try practicing affirmations every day for a week, and see how your thought process begins to shift into a lighter and happier mindset. Have you tried affirmations yet? Comment below and tell us more about your experience!