Guidelines for Creating Affirmations that Work

·         Affirmations will help you change your mindset, open up the doors to greater perception and increase your motivation to take action toward your goals.

·         Remember an affirmation is a statement with a thought picture that says you already having your goal.

There are 8 rules for making an affirmation that will work.

1.    Affirmations start with the words “I AM. . .”

2.    Affirmations are positive. Never use the word not in an affirmation.

WRONG: I am not afraid of job interviews.
RIGHT: I am happily and calmly answering every question in my job interviews.

3.    Affirmations are stated in the present tense.

1.    Say it as if it is happening now.

4.    Affirmations are short. Keep them brief.

5.    Affirmations are specific.

WRONG: I am driving a new car.
RIGHT: I am driving a new blue 2008 Lexus LS460.

6.    Affirmations need words that end in -ing. (an action verb).

0.    I am driving a new blue 2008 Lexus LS460.

1.    I am teaching kindergarten.

7.    Affirmations have a feeling word in them. (happily, proudly, thrilled, excited, exhilarated, peacefully, calmly, gratefully or an action verb that express feelings such as enjoying, adoring or feeling great.)

0.    I am happily driving my new blue 2008 Lexus LS460.

1.    I am enjoying teaching kindergarten.

8.    Affirmations are about yourself.

0.    All of your affirmations should be to change your own behavior, not the behavior of someone else.

WRONG: Johnny’s keeping his room clean.
RIGHT: I am calmly and effectively communicating with (or teaching) Johnny about keeping his room clean.

How to Use Affirmations and Visualizations

1.    Repeat your affirmations 3 times per day. The best times are first thing in the morning, in the middle of the day for course correction, and around bedtime.

2.    It is better to work in consistently and depth with a few affirmations than to occasionally repeat a lot of them.

3.    If you are in a private place, read each affirmation out loud. If not, read it silently to yourself.

4.    Close your eyes and visualize yourself experiencing what the affirmation describes. See the scene as you would see it if you were looking out at it through your eyes, as if it were happening around you.

5.    Hear any sounds you might hear when you successfully achieve what your affirmation describes. Include other important people in your life congratulating you and telling you how to pleased they are with your success.

6.    Feeling the feelings that you will feel when you achieve this success. The stronger the feelings, the more powerful the process becomes. (If you have difficulty creating the feelings, you can affirm, “I am enjoying creating powerful feelings in my effective work with affirmations.”)

7.    Say your affirmation again, and then repeat this process with the next affirmation.

Other Ways to Use Affirmations and Visualization

8.    Post 3x5 cards with your affirmations on them around your house.

9.    Post pictures of the things you want around your house or room. You can put a picture of yourself in the picture.

10. Repeat your affirmations during “wasted time” such as waiting in line, exercising and driving. You can repeat them silently or out loud.

11. Record your affirmations and listen to them while you work, drive or fall asleep. You can use endless loop tapes for this. See your audio supply dealers for endless loop tapes.

Write Affirmations (3 x 5 cards)

Make an affirmation for each of your goals and place them on a 3 x 5 index card. Go through the set saying them and visualizing them twice a day. You could also print these on a piece of paper and laminate it.

Affirmation Milling

Mill around, taking each other’s hands, making eye contact and sharing your affirmations with full enthusiasm and feelings congruent to the affirmation.

By Jack Canfield

How to Create an Empowering Vision Book

Your brain will work tirelessly to achieve the statements you give your subconscious mind. And when those statements are the affirmations and images of your goals, you are destined to achieve them!

Creating a vision book is probably one of the most valuable visualization tools available to you. This powerful tool serves as your image of the future - a tangible representation of where you are going. It represents your dreams, your goals, and your ideal life.

Because your mind responds strongly to visual stimulation-by representing your goals with pictures and images-you will actually strengthen and stimulate your emotions...  and your emotions are the vibrational energy that activates the Law of Attraction. The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words,” certainly holds true here.

If you have already defined your dreams, it’s time to illustrate them visually.

How to create a vision book that depicts the future you wish to create.

Find pictures that represent or symbolize the experiences, feelings, and possessions you want to attract into your life, and place them in your book. Have fun with the process! Use photographs, magazine cutouts, pictures from the Internet--whatever inspires you. Be creative. Include not only pictures, but anything that speaks to you.

Consider including a picture of yourself in your book. If you do, choose one that was taken in a happy moment. You will also want to post your affirmations, inspirational words, quotations, and thoughts here. Choose words and images that inspire you and make you feel good.

You can use your vision book to depict goals and dreams in all areas of your life, or in just one specific area that you are focusing on.  Keep it neat, and be selective about what you place in your vision book. It's a good idea to avoid creating a cluttered or chaotic book… you don't want to attract chaos into your life.

Use only the words and images that best represent your purpose, your ideal future, and words that inspire positive emotions in you. There is beauty in simplicity and clarity. Too many images and too much information will be distracting and harder to focus on.

If you are working on visualizing and creating changes in many areas of your life, then you may want to use more than one vision book. You might use one for your personal goals and another for career and financial goals. You might even want to keep your career vision book at the office or on your desk as a means of inspiration and affirmation.

How to use your vision book.

Try keeping your vision book on the nightstand next to your bed. Leave it standing in an open position as often as you are comfortable with, and spend time each morning and evening visualizing, affirming, believing, and internalizing your goals.

The time you spend visualizing in the evening just before bed is especially powerful. The thoughts and images that are present in your mind during the last forty-five minutes before going to sleep are the ones that will replay themselves repeatedly in your subconscious mind through¬out the night, and the thoughts and images that you begin each day with will help you to create a vibrational match for the future you desire.

As some time goes by, and your dreams begin to manifest, look at those images that represent your achievements, and feel gratitude for how well the Law of Attraction is working in your life. Acknowledge that it is working. Don't remove the pictures or images that represent the goals you've already achieved.  Achievement of the goals in your vision book are powerful visual reminders of what you have already consciously and deliberately attracted into your life.

I recommend you write down the date you created your vision book. The universe loves speed, and you will be amazed at just how quickly the Law of Attraction responds to your energy, commitment, and desires. Much like a time capsule, this book will document your personal journey, your dreams, and your achievements for that particular year. It will become a record of your growth, awareness, and expansion that you will want to keep and reflect back upon in years to come.

It’s a good idea to create a new vision book each year.  As you continue to grow, evolve and expand, your dreams will too. Your Vision Book is meant to be kept and cherished. They chronicle your not only your dreams, but your growth and achievements.

Final thoughts on using your completed vision book:

• Look at your vision book often and feel the inspiration it provides.
• Hold it in your hands and really internalize the future it represents.
• Read your affirmations and inspirational words aloud.
• See yourself living in that manner.
• Feel yourself in the future you have designed.
• Believe it is already yours.
• Be grateful for the good that is already present in your life.
• Acknowledge any goals you have already achieved.
• Acknowledge the changes you have seen and felt.
• Acknowledge the presence of God in your life.
• Acknowledge the Law of Attraction at work in your life.
• Look at it just before going to bed and first thing upon rising.

By: Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at:www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com