Affirmations - An Introduction

Wikipedia, The Free Online Dictionary defines affirmation as ".......a declaration that something is true".

Affirmations are a powerful ingredient in positive thinking. They are not statements that you wish to be true; they are statements that you must believe are true in the present tense.

Affirmations are positive statements describing a desired condition in your life. That condition may not yet exist, but the affirmation is spoken as though it does. A simple example might be: "I am at peace with my life". This is repeated several times on a daily basis, out loud or mentally, the aim being to program the subconscious mind into producing the desired outcome. They must be sincerely felt, and spoken in the present tense with conviction and enthusiasm.

We carry out such mental programming every day whether we know it or not; the trick is to make this programming conscious and positive. The alternative is to be unaware that we are issuing negative affirmations to ourselves. If you have ever made a mistake and muttered "I am such an idiot", you have just given yourself a negative affirmation. The problem is that any negative affirmation you give enters your subconscious mind and has a harmful effect - it creates your reality.

Positive thinking as a popular psychology can be traced back to the turn of the last century, with the beginning of the New Thought movement. this movement remains just as important today, although there have been countless similar off-shoots in the years since on the subject of positive thinking and new ways of using the mind for personal success.

Many books on positive thinking. like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, focus mainly on the financial benefits to be gained from altering your thoughts. The reason for this is obvious: it taps into the almost desperate desire of so many people to become wealthy. Whilst this may be geared to capturing the public imagination, it may also give doubters and newcomers the wrong impression. People buy these books expecting some incredible revelation, and do not expect to be told that all they simply have to do is start thinking in a more positive manner.

The answer they seek is so simple it is easy for many to dismiss it, but simple does not always mean easy. Reprogramming a mind that has suffered negative thoughts and affirmations for years can be tough.

Despite the plethora of Think and Grow Rich type books, positive thinking is infinitely more than just trying to make yourself rich. Due to the apparent simplicity of this system of life improvement a lot of readers can be left feeling a little cheated, and therefore disillusioned with the whole notion. Can it be that easy?

This is a great shame, because positive thinking has the power to transform your life, and affirmations are the cornerstone of positive thinking and the beginning and maintaining of a truly successful life transformation.