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3.3. Affirmations

Reciting affirmations is a tool to enable you to become more intentional about your goals while also
providing the encouragement and positive mindset necessary to achieve them.

By repeatedly articulating and reinforcing to yourself what result you want to
accomplish, why accomplishing it is important to you, which specific actions are required to produce that
result, and, most importantly, precisely when you commit to taking those actions, your subconscious
mind will shift your beliefs and behavior. You’ll begin to believe your affirmations and behave in new
ways, and eventually manifest your affirmations into your reality.

Here are five simple steps to create your first affirmation.

Step 1: What You Really Want. A written affirmation aims to program your mind with the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors/habits that are vital to your being able to attract, create and sustain your ideal levels of success in every area of your life. So, your affirmation must first clearly articulate exactly what you want your ideal life to be like, in each area. I am…

Step 2: Why You Want It. Everyone wants to be happy, healthy, and successful, but wanting is rarely an effective strategy for getting. Those who overcome the temptations of mediocrity and achieve everything they want in life have an extraordinarily compelling why that drives them. They have defined a clear life purpose that is more powerful than the collective sum of their petty problems and the countless obstacles they will inevitably face, and they wake up each day and work towards their purpose. Include why, at the deepest level, all of the things you want are important to you. Being crystal clear on your deepest whys will give you an unstoppable purpose. This is important because…

Step 3: Whom You Are Committed To Being To Create It. This is where the rubber meets the road. In other words, your life gets better only after you get better. Your outer world improves only after you’ve invested countless hours improving yourself. Being (who you need to be) and doing (what you need to do) are prerequisites for having what you want to have. Get clear on who you need to be, are committed to being, in order to take your life, business, health, marriage, etc. to the next level and beyond. To achieve this I will…

Step 4: What You’re Committed To Doing To Attain It. Which actions will you need to take on a consistent basis to make your vision for your ideal life a reality? The more specific your actions are, the better. Be sure to include frequency (how often), quantity (how many), and precise timeframes (what times you’ll begin and end your activities.) I am committed to… It’s also important to start small. Take manageable steps. Feel small successes along the way so you feel good and don’t get discouraged by setting expectations too high to be able to maintain. You can build up to your ideal goal. E.g., start by writing down a daily or weekly goal and decide when you will increase it. After a few weeks of successfully meeting your goal of going to the gym 2-days-a-week for 20 minutes, then move it up to 3-days-a-week for 20 minutes, and so on.

Step 5: Add Inspirational Quotes and Philosophies. Anytime you see or hear a quote that inspires you or come across an empowering philosophy or strategy, think to yourself: Man, that is a huge area of improvement for me, add it to your affirmations. By focusing on these daily, you will begin to integrate the empowering philosophies and strategies into your way of thinking and living, improving your results and quality of life.

Here is one of my affirmations: I am a successful teacher in high demand, an award-winning public speaker, and a best-selling author who inspires millions. I am committed to doing, learning, and improving all that I need to do, learn, and improve to become that person. Citius, Altus, Fortius. (Faster, higher, stronger.) I will keep on improving both personally and professionally everyday a little bit by dedicating at least the first and last hour to my personal and professional growth.

 

Afformations

Noah Saint John (https://noahstjohn.com) suggests turning affirmations into questions because the brain always seeks to answer them, and I like it. He calls these “afformations.”

The idea is to stay with the questions. You’re not looking to come up with answers.

Here is why:

  • Questions have more power than answers, both in thinking and communicating.
  • Questions are first, then answers.
  • Great results begin with great questions.
  • A genuine question is one to which the answer is not already known.
  • Successful strategic thinking, information gathering, communication, collaboration, creativity, and change depend on the questions’ quantity, quality, and intention.
  • Asking questions of oneself and others is the best defense against assumptions and blindspots that compromise relationships and results.
  • Asking others constructive, quality questions brings out their best thinking, partnership, action, and results.
  • Quality listening is essential to the process of effective question asking.
  • Mindset trumps questions.
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