Affirmations, do they serve a useful purpose, or are they just a hocus pocus, new age waste of time?

Just about everybody uses or has used affirmations one time or another. From the simple "I can get through this" or "Things will get better for me", to the more correct method of "I am a wealthy, happy person always."

I would like to say right off that affirmations when used correctly can and do work to varying degrees. I believe they are a useful self-help / improvement tool. Problem is that most folks do not use them correctly, or they try them for 5 minutes, don't get thinner, richer or happier & give up.

For starters, if you truly do not believe that affirmations will work for, you will be right. Second, if you use affirmations that are far beyond anything that you have experienced before, or well out of your belief range you will also find them lacking. For example; If you say to yourself "I am a millionaire many times over", and you have always been broke, your mind will have big problems accepting this. But, if you try, "I am becoming wealthier every day" you may have much better success.

As your affirmations become bigger & more powerful your mind will become to believe them because you have gone into it slowly. If you've been wealthy before then you can go straight to the millionaire affirmations because your brain is familiar with wealth.

How do you tell whether or not your brain will accept an affirmation? Easy, if you try something like "I am a super-confident person" and this leaves you feeling a bit uncomfortable (your brain doesn't believe you) then you may want to switch to "I am becoming more confident within myself everyday." Experiment until you find a level that leaves you feeling good.

If you've tried them before you will know that affirmations must be simple, to the point, framed in a positive way and in the present tense. Here are some examples;

"My income is constantly increasing"
"I am healthy, healed and whole"
"Abundance is mine"
"My body heals quickly and easily"
"I deserve all good in my life and that includes prosperity"
"I now attract the perfect partner into my life"
"Money flows to me from expected and unexpected sources"
"I make friends easily wherever I go"
"New opportunities to increase my income open up for me now"

Notice they're all simple, not too long, present & positive. When saying your words try and put as much positive emotion into it as you can, your mind doesn't know what's real or not and positive feelings help embed your words. Another great technique is to write your words out 15 times every morning (and evening if you like) for a couple of weeks. Writing adds even more potency to affirmations.

If you meditate repeat a simple affirmation while you sit. Use it as a mantra and it will sink into your subconscious mind, meditation opens your brain up for receiving this type of input. Otherwise, record and play it back on repeat while you sit and listen.

So, to wrap things up. Affirmations are great tools when used daily as part of your self-help routine, start with affirmations that feel comfortable to you and gradually move upwards. Don't try for a few days and give up. Your brain likes a couple of weeks to form new neural pathways. Try them and you will be surprised.