The Simple Trick to Creating Affirmations That Work Even When You’re Not Feeling It

Can you say these statements from you heart with conviction?

“I am beautiful”
“I love myself”
“I have all that I need”

If not, don’t fret — I have a solution for you!

Affirmations are small mental shifts that we can make to move our attention away from thoughts that weigh us down, and towards thoughts that lift us up.

This, by the way, is what Yoga is all about: making the unconscious conscious and then choosing to focus our mind one that which brings more joy!

So what about when you just don’t believe the affirmation? Should you keep repeating it even though you feel like you’re lying to yourself?

The jury is still out on that, but I’ll give you my two cents based on personal experiences and those of my students:

When I repeat an affirmation that I don’t believe, I will say that it certainly doesn’t hurt. Even if only on a subtle level, the positive words send my body and mind uplifting vibrations. I do, however, believe there is a better way!

Here is the trick: add some variation of the phrase “I am learning to...” at the beginning of the affirmation.

Here are some examples of how to tweak the affirmations above so they are true for you and uplifting:

“I am willing to see my beauty”
“I am learning to love myself”
“I am open to seeing that I have all I need”

How does that feel?

The more I can mentally or verbally repeat an affirmation with sincerity, the more I feel the shift. It takes practice to find the language that works for you, so start today, and watch what happens!