How often do you compliment other people? Do you tell them that they’re doing a good job, that they look good, and that they’ve completed a challenge successfully? Those are, of course, examples of people giving others positive affirmations. But what about you? Do you tell yourself, job well done? If not, why — and what can you do to change that dynamic? Should you even try?
The answer to the last question is yes, of course, you should try. Helping to build yourself up is a great way to think through your goals and convince yourself that you’re on the right path. It can give a needed boost to your self-esteem and also help protect you if you feel as if you might be making the wrong choice. Sometimes you have to push through, and a positive affirmation can help assist with that. What steps should you take? This graphic explains it better.
Positive affirmations play a massive part in spirituality. Many people who find themselves on a spiritual path have been through a tough time in life. It seems to be something many highly sensitives have in common. In this article, we will look through the points that you can see above and see how they can fit into everyday life and spirituality.
What Are Positive Affirmations?
Positive affirmations are inspirational and empowering statements, yet sometimes difficult statements that help you get past specific issues that you may have. However, sometimes, you will see that some people who use positive affirmations appear not to have many problems. The reason for that is simple; they work around them with a specific outlook on life.
The easiest way to look at what a positive affirmation is is to think about something that you feel you are not good at and turn it around positively. That may be something that you encounter in the routine, non-spiritual world. Or, it could be something that you feel on a spiritual level. Before you tell me that everything is spiritual, you are right. However, for this example, I need to differentiate the two.
- Non-spiritual affirmation. – I can do my job well; I am the best person for the job; that is why I have the job.
- Spiritual affirmation. – I can find time to meditate; I will connect with my spirit guides.
The fact is, you can use affirmations for anything that you want or need to. They are all about giving yourself a better perspective of the life you lead. In turn, that perspective changes your actual abilities, thus improving your skills and self-esteem even more.
How Positive Affirmations Help
You know that little voice inside your mind, your own thoughts, that has a significant impact on your physical and mental ability. Think of the last time that you tried to do something challenging or new. Did your mind tell you that you “couldn’t” do it? As soon as you have that thought, you instantly go into a negative state of mind. That can have devastating effects on your own psyche. Rarely will you ever leave that thought and outcome in the past – it follows you for a very long time.
That thought and feeling of inability often lead to negative affirmations, such as “I can’t do it” or “I won’t even try.”
On the other hand, if you build yourself up with positivity, you will have a better outlook on life in general. Think of a time that you thought that you could not do something and then did it anyway. It doesn’t matter what that thing was, but I bet you have a warm feeling of accomplishment now, don’t you? Doing the same task would not be as hard next time, should you want or need to do it again.
That also holds with everything in life, including spirituality. Positive affirmations help to raise your vibration. They bring you up to a more positive outlook, which in turn brings about a better feeling within, which is where the law of attraction falls in to play “you bring about what you think about!” So you see, positive affirmations are fundamental and powerful approaches to life.
While the infographic above looks as though it could lean towards a less spiritual aspect of life, we will look at the headings spiritually as pretty much all of them can and do relate to spirituality.
Reduce Stress
A lot of people, especially when they start on their spiritual journey, become stressed. Of course, that all depends on the person and the circumstances of the newfound way of life. Some people fall into spiritual awakening by accident or incident. However, others decide that they want to lead a more spiritual life. That often causes chaos in their life. For example, the first few times that you try to meditate, you may get nothing. No spirit guide, no message, and most of the time, not even a second of silence.
That “inability” that you experience is really disheartening. Trust me, I know. When you get disheartened about something that you have passion for, you start to feel stressed because you are frustrated. However, positive affirmations such as:
- I can learn spiritual meditation.
- I will connect with my guides.
- Etc.
All help you to remain consistent with your efforts. The first time that you achieve a small success, your stress about that situation will reduce. The more of those small successes you have, and the more you tell yourself that you can do it, the more your stress will diminish.
Read More: Spiritual Meditation for Beginners
Improve Academic Performance
Again, academics don’t necessarily mean school, college, or university. It is a pretty broad term that you can use for anything that involves learning. Whether that is divination of any sort, meditation, crystal properties, etc., telling yourself that you will learn the things you desire will push you to do it. The Secret is a book about manifestation and the law of attraction. That book goes into a lot of detail about how to manifest, I bought this book many years ago at the beginning of my spiritual journey, and it’s pretty amazing how you can apply the techniques and see results.
However, it is not by a miracle that you get what you want. It is more by positive affirmations providing you with confidence and perseverance.
Enhance Overall Wellbeing
Your overall well-being is a vast area of your life to enhance. While positive affirmations may not help your physical health, they certainly will improve your mental health. Allowing yourself the time to reduce your stress levels while doing what you love and want to do will help you feel better. You can call that overall well-being a sense of happiness. The happier you are, the better your overall well-being. The better your well-being, the happier you are, and so on. It’s a big circle of greatness, and it also increases your spiritual connections too!
Encourage Greater Openness to Behavioral Changes
Once you get the hang of using positive affirmations and feel the benefit of it, you will be willing to try new things. When you try new things, you will feel more accomplished daily. Both of those things will allow you to be more open to changing your behavior. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you will become a completely different person, but you will be in a better mental state to see its effects on people.
When you see the effects, good or bad, you will intrinsically want to change to be a better person. That is because seeing a smile, hearing a laugh, or getting a hug from someone is a much more beautiful feeling than the material things in life or their anger with you.
Affirm One’s Sense of Self-Worth
Many people feel like they are worthless. That is a horrible thought, I know. However, unfortunately, it is true. And yes, that is still very much applicable in the spiritual community. When you want to try something new, such as meditation, you can often feel useless or worthless when it doesn’t go to plan.
You need to keep reminding yourself that you can do it! You are good enough at meditation; you will learn what is right for you.
Broaden Perspectives
Spirituality is not a narrow path to find yourself in. However, many people try to find the right way for them to follow. The truth of it is there is no right path. And if there is, we do not know it at the beginning of our journey. People are fortunate when they find their path. However, these people find their personal direction by broadening their perspectives.
You will not be able to find your way if you try to force yourself down a track you think you should follow. It would help if you explored new avenues, tried new things, and saw things differently. Positive affirmations allow you to do that because you can affirm that you are free to choose. And if it is the wrong choice, you can try another track. There is no right or wrong journey, only a perception of it.
Minimize Negative Emotions
As you have seen throughout this article and its basis, positive affirmations are positive. The more you tell yourself something positive, the more you will think and believe it in general thoughts. That can lead to a lot fewer negative thoughts about yourself or your situation. However, they will still appear as it is in our unconsciousness. The difference is that you can dispel those thoughts much more quickly when you are used to positive thinking.
Furthermore, emotions such as anxiety and fear will lower when you start to believe in yourself more.
Reaffirm Your Own Resources
Knowing what you are capable of and your personal resources is a huge advantage. It sums up all of the points above. This point is not about physical resources, though. It is aimed more at your mental and physiological abilities and how you use them. However, this is one of the final aspects of positive affirmations, as you require the rest of them to gain reaffirmation.
However, it is undoubtedly the most rewarding. When you know who you are, what you need, and what you can do, you will be happier.
How Do You Start Positive Affirmations?
Now that you know what affirmations are suitable for in a spiritual sense, you probably want to know how to implement them. Well, it is much like how you use them for everyday life. Throughout the next few sections, we will go through the best ways to start and how to gain a better understanding of yourself.
Do Positive Affirmations Work? – Think About What You Love
The first thing that you need to do is think about all of the things that you love. That can include things you like to do, things and morals you stand for, etc. Always aim for the things that you like first. There is a big issue with overcoming negativity before gaining some confidence.
The reason for that is if you think that you are bad at something, then your affirmations, at first, may only reaffirm those feelings. For example, using an affirmation like this:
I am not anxious.
Your instant focus there is anxiety. That can immediately draw your attention to anxiety, which can increase those feelings because the first thing you start to do is think of the reasons for your anxiety. Therefore, you will turn a positive affirmation into a negative experience and probably stop whatever you want to do before starting.
Always focus on what you like or stand for, not the things you feel are a weakness. Perhaps, if you have a family, you can think about your contributions and the fact that the people around you care for you. Once you get the hang of it, you will find that it becomes easier and more natural.
Set Yourself Small Goals
One of the biggest traps people fall into when using positive affirmations is aiming too high. There is never a problem with having a substantial overall goal. However, when you start to use positive affirmations, you’ll want to start small. Do not think; I can meditate for three hours a day, meet all of my spirit guides, and astral project. You will more than likely fail, as these things take a lot of time and practice to achieve. That will then result in you feeling down again.
The more sensible thing to do is tell yourself that you will meditate for five minutes daily and build up to longer. That is much more obtainable; thus, you will feel better when you do achieve your goal.
Do Positive Affirmations Work? – Conclusion
Do they work? Yes. Can you use positive affirmations to your advantage? Absolutely. Can they work against you? Unfortunately, this is also a yes. Plan your affirmations before you start them. That way, you can assess which is going to work the best, to begin with. Remember that you want to start small, and do not try to overcome your biggest fears and insecurities on day one.