Do Affirmations Really Work?

recite your affirmations may be overrun or in conflict with another belief that you are trying to push from your mind which is proving to be just as stubborn as that darned white bear.
So there you are desperately trying to repeat good things to yourself and your own mind is sabotaging you! What do you do?
Tricking the Mind
Fortunately there are ways to get around your mind saboteur. Part of the difficulty with using affirmations may come from using the statement I am. When you are saying to yourself I am an excellent rider or I am calm and collected these statements may open you up for attack. Then your mind says you are not! and you feel defeated.
But what happens if you drop the first part of this statement and just focus on the descriptive words? You no longer have a condition for conflict. What you have now is a power word. So you say to yourself excellence and just let this word resonate within you. Let your mind freely associate about excellence and what it means to you. What would your behaviour be like if you achieved excellence in your sport? How would you hold your body? Who would be around you?
What this does is enable your mind to personalize the word for you. It also allows you to freely explore without working out the conflict of am I? or arent I? what you would be like with different beliefs. This is the very first step to being able to have them. Your mind needs to be able to contemplate and visualize what a changed you may look like bringing this new vision into the realm of reality.
Getting Started
There are a few ways you can develop words to use as affirming power words. You can choose a word that represents a goal you want to accomplish or a state you wish to achieve. Here are some examples
To support your goals excellence poise resourcefulness commitment persistence success achievement focus competence progress knowledge proficiency.
To create a state power grace energy light engage soft release forward compress elevate patience strength connect harmony confidence dance converse shine.
Try this exercise as a test run. Sit comfortably and take a few minutes to relax your body taking a few deepclarifying breaths. Next for a few minutes choose one of the preceding words or one of your own to hold in your mind. Dont try to