Positive Affirmations

One of the terms you may have come across in your reading or listening about positive thinking is "positive affirmations"; but what is a positive affirmation?

An affirmation, according to a dictionary definition, is a statement asserting the existence or the truth of something. In self improvement, affirmations can be used in silent, verbal, or written communication with yourself. This is normally done in the form of a positive affirmation, a communication to your subconscious that a certain truth already exists; a truth that relates to you personally, and whose realization is beneficial to your personal well being.

You could say that the use of positive affirmations is a form of autosuggestion, or even self hypnosis. However, if you want to make practical use of affirmations in improving any aspect of your life, then none of that really matters. The fact is that using positive affirmations is simple to do, and the technique can be applied in different ways and at different times to suit your life style. While it helps to have some understanding of the mental processes that might take place, and of expert interpretations of what affirmations actually are in the spectrum of self development, it is not essential.

What Aspects of Self Improvement Can Positive Affirmations Be Applied To?

The answer to the question raised in the heading could be answered in one word: "any". Positive affirmations can be applied to any aspect of your personal life you wish to improve, so if you are considering self improvement in any form, whether to career success, business success, improved health, or the removal of bad habits, then positive affirmations should be considered part of your armoury.

When Should You Use Positive Affirmations?

With positive affirmations, you are making positive statements to your subconscious, with the expectation that your subconscious mind will absorb those affirmations and treat them as reality. Repeated often and firmly enough, those statements should become the reality of your conscious mind and the physical work around you.

As with any form of communicating with your inner self, such as with meditation, the ideal time to make use of positive affirmations is when you can set aside a period and a place where you can get peace and quiet, sufficient to relax totally without interruption. Those who are already experienced in meditation will find it easy to achieve the ideal conditions for using positive affirmations. In fact, integrating your affirmations into your meditation sessions is a practical option worth considering, especially if you are pressed for time.

However, as with meditation, the ideal is not always easy to fit into your busy life, so you may need to compromise. Here are some suggestions on how to build in positive affirmations into your:

1. I find positive affirmations effective at night time, just before sleep. Once you have mastered the skill of not falling asleep too quickly, when you have gone to bed for the night is a good time to fit in some positive affirmations. As you relax and unwind, start mentally going through the positive affirmations you want to feed to your subconscious mind.

If you sleep alone, or have an understanding partner, then you can say the affirmations out loud also. If not, instead of just thinking of each affirmation as you say it, hear yourself saying it so you get the benefit of the sound without having to make any noise to disturb your partner.

You can repeat your affirmations any time you want. It is a mental process, so as long as you are conscious, it can be done. Any spare minute alone can be utilized for positive affirmations, or you can even repeat them mentally when you are in the company of others, such as on the bus or train to work. What is important is that you repeat the affirmations regularly.

Other Tips For Self Improvement Through Positive Affirmations

You can increase the likelihood of positive affirmations working for you by adopting some or all of the following tips:

1. At the same time as you are repeating your affirmations, incorporate visualisation to accompany each affirmation. For example, if your affirmation is "I am a successful manager with my current employer", then visualize yourself actually performing that role in your work environment.

2. Write down your affirmations, and leave them in places where they act as a reminder, such as pinning them up by the mirror in the bathroom, or on a Post-It on your work desk.

3. Repeat your positive affirmations daily.

4. Make the affirmations as detailed as possible, so that your subconscious is left in no doubt what you mean. For your example, if your affirmation is "I am living in a new house" it is very vague. A new house could be in an undesirable neighbourhood in a part of the country, or world, you would no want to live. Be more precise, and add details of the type of house, key features, and location.

5. Make use of the present tense, as the example I give in 4. above. "I am" is far more convincing that "I will be", "I will" or "I might".

Those are just five additional suggestions to help you get the most out of using positive affirmations as a route to self improvement. There are many more tips that may help you, but in time and with practice, you will find what suits you best, and come up with your own "tips".

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Inspirational Quotes

A great life consists of keeping your eyes on the distant mountains of your life purpose while continuing to put one foot in front of the other along the path of everyday life. However, it is all too easy to lose sight of the goal and get lost in everyday frustrations, angers and disappointments.

Including daily reminders of your life purpose in each day's routine can help keep your focus on your goals. Great reminders can include meditation, prayer, yoga, positive affirmations, and also daily inspirational quotes.

Inspirational quotes are typically fragmentary thoughts, taken out of context, that are best used to get you thinking about their underlying meaning and about the big commitments and values of your life. As an example, let's take a look at President Franklin Roosevelt's quote, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror." Those words were a part of President Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address on March fourth 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression. But is it necessary to understand the context in order to appreciate the thought and apply it in your life? Not only is the context not necessary, but in my opinion, it actually makes it more difficult to focus the inspiration on your own issues around fear.

Your fears are not about the depression of 1933, or about the Second World War, which many people think Roosevelt was referring to. Whatever your fears, it is inspirational to be reminded that fear, especially the formless fear of the unknown, is the true enemy of living a joyful and productive life.

As another example, consider Helen Keller's words, "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." Helen Keller overcame being deaf and blind from the age of 19 months to become an author and social activist. In that context, the quote has an extra "wow" factor - that someone bearing those burdens could still speak of an ideal life as a daring adventure. Nonetheless, as an inspirational quote to guide your own life, Keller's words, independent of their context, are a powerful reminder to focus on the big picture - what you came here to do.

There is often disagreement over the source of an inspirational quote. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. may or may not have said, ""Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Mark Twain quite likely did not say, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do." Does it make an inspirational quote less meaningful or less inspirational because the author is unknown? For me, the value of inspirational quotes is mostly in the words, and how I can apply them to my own life, rather than in historical context. I find the Faith quote and the Twenty Years quote to be two of the most inspiring and motivating quotes I have found - whoever their authors may have been.

Inspirational quotes can be uplifting or motivational, spiritual or practical. Some of the most inspiring quotes, such as the Faith quote attributed to Martin Luther King Jr., share several of these qualities. For maximum impact on your life and goals, try to include a variety of types of inspirational quotes.

Consider beginning the practice of starting each day by reading and contemplating inspirational quotes.

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Motivational Quotes

Using motivational quotes as a way of staying inspired is a common practice among high achievers. You can get an added boost of excitement and confidence when you read or repeat a saying from a famous person. Here are 5 ways to use motivation quotes to gain and sustain motivation.

1. Read- Read inspiring books. Read biographies and personal development self-help books. When you do so you will find inspiring quotes that you can lift out of them and use. Once you have these quotes you can read them any time that you like. A good quote that you borrow from a book can push you do what it takes to get what you want. Let's say that a person has been putting off setting goals and yet they are discouraged with their current situation.

Here is a quote that can help:

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." ~ Anthony Robbins

Reading this quote while internalizing what it states to you will serve to dramatically increase your enthusiasm, belief and inspiration.

2. Say- Simply speaking quotes out loud can get you fired up and excited about going after your goals. When you say a quote over and over again it reinforces your belief in yourself. You will gain confidence. You will come to believe that now is a good time to pursue your passion and make things happen.

3. Write- Write good motivational quotes down. You want to record and collect as many good quotes as possible. Each one that you have access to can change your emotional state from frustrated to encouraged. Imagine finding a quote like this one:

"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." -William Jennings Bryan

Isn't that inspiring? Next you want to be sure to write this quote down. When you collect a quote like this one, then you have in your possession an inspiring statement that can motivate you time and time again.

4. Display- Put quotes up so that they are always in your environment. Throughout your day you are faced with many ups and downs. No matter how much of a drain you may be receiving from negative situations, a good quote can help.

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts... " - Marcus Aurelius

When a quote like this one is placed somewhere within eyeshot of where you are working will work to counteract the discouraging forces at play and give you a ray of sunshine in the midst of the storm.

5. Share- Here is what will happen. By repeating them over and over again, you will eventually memorize your favorite quotes. Then you will develop the habit of using those quotes to drive your point home when you are expressing important thoughts to others. People tend to listen to you more intently when you use quotes because you are borrowing credibility. For instance, when you quote Abraham Lincoln or Gandhi people will instantly become receptive to what you have to say. You'll soon discover that the very same quotes that you used for your own motivation will end up motivating others as well.

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