Affirmations - What Works II

Big Lie. You most likely will need to do an affirmation 200-300 times daily if it is what I call a "big lie" (e.g., your affirmation is "I weigh 132 lbs" when the scale would reveal 200 lbs). In the case of a big lie, you need to self-hypnotize yourself with the excessive repetition. Otherwise, the part of you that knows the falsehood will cynically respond, "yeah, right." This self-hypnosis (or you might call it heavy advertising or brainwashing or overpowering) is essential for the process to take hold. Once you repeat the affirmation hundreds of times, there is a small part of you that starts to say "perhaps"- it is this shadow of doubt that will permit new experiences and new behaviors. In terms of the law of attraction, this is the step where you first start to believe (Step 2). Now, when confronted with an old familiar behavior pattern, you realize that there is another choice available for you.

Small Lie. How about small lies, like, "I pay my bills on time every month?" This behavior change is not large. Even though it might be a lie, it is not that difficult to align yourself with and just turning your attention to that affirmation on a daily basis may be enough to make it happen for you next month. If it doesn't feel like a "big deal" to you, then affirmations that are small lies can probably be successfully accomplished on a 10-times twice-daily basis.

If you do encounter difficulties (or are in therapy already), you might try a slower route by using affirmation(s) that talk about noticing behavior: (e.g., I notice my food behaviors, I notice my stubbornness, I notice my irritations/anger or I notice my money behaviors.)