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If you’ve ever paid attention to your thoughts for a day, then you’ve likely noticed some very negative things you tend to think about yourself:
“I ruined dinner again. Everyone will hate this meal! Why do I even bother?”
“I forgot to pay my credit card bill – I’m such an idiot!”
“I don’t know enough to be a health coach. Who would take health advice from me anyway?”
“I haven’t achieved anything in my life. I’m stuck in a job I hate, and I never have enough money. I’m a total failure.”
So much of what we say and think about ourselves is negative. And those negative thoughts influence everything else in your life: Your Beliefs create Emotions, which create Behaviors, which result in Effects.
And the Effects you get reinforce your Belief. So when you believe you’re a failure or you don’t know enough about something, your emotions and behaviors will cause you to act in a way that makes that a reality.
On the other hand, if you believe you have everything you need to be successful or you believe you are smart, capable and talented, your emotions will shift, and so will your behaviors, to allow you to achieve your goals.
And it all starts with shifting your Belief. Beliefs are nothing more than thoughts you continue to repeat to yourself, so to shift your thoughts, start with positive affirmations.
Affirmations are declarations you can make to consciously shift your thoughts from something negative to something positive. By writing down an affirmation or saying it out loud, you’re forcing your brain to pay attention to the positive thought, which helps you form positive emotions.
When practiced each day, positive affirmations can help you form new beliefs or thought patterns, creating an abundance mindset. And an abundance mindset can transform your life by motivating you to take powerful, aligned action toward your goals.
If you want to experience more abundance or more success in your life, start by shifting your thoughts with positive affirmations.
Here’s how to create your own positive affirmations for abundance:
There are two types of positive affirmations you can create: a Mantra Affirmation or a Goal Affirmation.
Mantra affirmations are written in present tense, as if your thought is already reality. This form of affirmation is typically shorter and easier to memorise. They work well if you want something you can repeat to yourself throughout the day.
Goal affirmations are written in present progressive tense, as if your thought is in progress now and will continue to progress as time goes on. This type of affirmation works well if you prefer to write out your affirmations, as they are typically more specific and goal oriented.
Mantra: “I effortlessly attract money.”
Goal: “I am so happy and grateful now that I am effortlessly depositing an extra $1,000 per month into my bank account.”
Which affirmation you choose depends on how you plan to use them. It’s also helpful to think about your current beliefs. Start from where you are: do you currently believe you effortlessly attract money? If so, a mantra affirmation will work well for you. Mantra affirmations are also useful for repeating during meditation, or to give yourself an extra boost of motivation.
On the other hand, if you need more convincing, the present progressive tense of the goal affirmation will help you ease into these positive thoughts and help you form a new belief over time. The goal affirmation also works well if you’re working to manifest something specific into your life.
How to Create Mantra Affirmations
1. Start with “I”
To shift your mindset, your thoughts need to be believable. And to be believable, you have to imagine yourself acting on your thoughts. To do this, you have to put yourself at the center of your affirmation by starting the sentence with “I.”
Some people use affirmations that make an object the subject of the sentence (like “Money flows effortlessly into my life”). And while this may work as a mantra, it’s not as powerful as an affirmation.
If you’re using affirmations to shift to an abundance mindset, then you need to be the subject of the sentence. Remember: an abundance mindset comes from a deep belief in yourself and your abilities. Saying you believe that money comes to you easily is not the same as believing that you are capable of earning or attracting money.
It’s a subtle difference, and it may be semantics, but it’s a powerful differentiator that will help you shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset.
2. Keep it present
Instead of thinking toward the future with “I will create…” keep it present with “I create…” One reason affirmations are so powerful is that they train your brain to see yourself as you are in the present moment. So, if all your affirmations are future focused (I will achieve, I will attract, I will earn), your subconscious mind views you as not having achieved those things yet. And as you keep repeating your affirmations over time, you’ll always be striving for the goal instead of achieving it.
Instead, use present tense to teach your brain (and the Universe) that you’re someone who has already achieved something, even if you haven’t yet. Using an affirmation like “I create abundance” teaches your subconscious mind to start to “act as if” you already create abundance in your life.
3. Use a motivating adjective or verb
Part of acting as if you’re already the person you desire to be is thinking about how you want to feel when you achieve your goal. A simple way of doing this is to add a motivating adjective or verb to your affirmation.
Instead of “I attract money into my life,” try “I effortlessly attract money into my life.” Or, instead of “I achieve my career goals,” try “I boldly conquer my career goals.”
When you repeat positive affirmations that make you feel good, your brain remembers this feeling and wants to help you continue to feel those positive emotions. Remember how your Emotions are created by your Beliefs? Well, your brain makes the connection that these feel-good emotions come from your positive affirmation. So by repeating them and continuing to feel positive emotions, you can more easily rewire your brain to think more positively.
4. Be positive
Speaking of being positive, that goes for your affirmations, too. Be sure to affirm what you want, not what you don’t want.
Instead of “I don’t fear failure,” try, “I confidently achieve my goals.”
Your subconscious mind doesn’t recognize the words “no” or “not.” Because your mind processes the world through pictures or images, saying something like “I’m no longer afraid of flying,” still brings up images of times when you were afraid to fly.
Think of it this way: if someone tells you, “Don’t imagine a purple elephant.” What’s the first image that pops into your mind? I’m guessing it’s a purple elephant.
Always keep your affirmations positive and focused on what you do want, not what you don’t want.
5. Be concise
Finally, it’s important to keep mantra affirmations as concise as possible. This way, you’ll be more likely to remember them and can call on them throughout the day when you need a boost of motivation or confidence.
Another great way to use mantra affirmations is to add them to your phone reminders. Because they’re short and to the point, you can add them as a reminder or to-do, then set them up with a recurring time each day to pop up as an alert.
This works well because your brain is busy processing important information all day. You need to reserve your willpower and brain power for decision-making and getting your work done, and you won’t always remember to say your affirmations. Using phone reminders or other alerts helps you to stay consistent with your habit while giving your brain one less thing to remember.
How to Create Goal Affirmations
1. Begin with the end in mind
Think of a goal you have for yourself. What does the outcome look like? How will it feel to have achieved that? Keep this in mind as you craft your goal affirmation, then keep your affirmation present and positive, just as you would for a mantra affirmation.
2. Start with “I am”
According to Jack Canfield, the words I am are the two most powerful words in the language. The subconscious mind takes any sentence that starts with the words “I am” and interprets it as a command – a directive to make it happen.
Using “I am” also keeps your goal affirmation in present progressive tense, which helps you reinforce a belief about yourself over time. It’s a signal to your brain that you are currently achieving your goal and you will continue to work toward achieving your goal.
3. Be specific
It’s important to make your goal affirmation as specific as possible, especially if you want to manifest something into your life.
Instead of, “I am moving in to my dream home,” try “I am joyfully moving in to a 2,000 square foot beach front condo with gorgeous ocean views.”
Remember how your brain processes information through pictures and images? Which of the above affirmations creates a clearer picture?
Vague goal affirmations create vague results. If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you know when you get there?
4. Use an active word ending in -ing
You’ll automatically do this if you start your affirmation with “I am,” but instead of using vague or lackluster verbs, use active, powerful verbs.
Instead of, “I am going to buy a new car,” try, “I am joyfully spending $40,000 on a red Alfa Romeo Giulia.”
Again, using these powerful verbs creates a clear and exciting picture of your goal.
Repeating these affirmations each day continues to create these images in your mind. But because you haven’t yet achieved your goal, it creates a sort of cognitive dissonance in your mind.
Your brain sees you buying the car or moving into your dream home, but you aren’t really doing those things, so it’s a little confused. It wants to close the gap between the subconscious images and your real life, so your brain works to help you make your goals a reality.
When your brain has a goal, it works tirelessly with the Universe to make it happen. You might pay more attention to opportunities that seem to pop up out of nowhere, or you might remember that you have a friend in an industry you’re trying to break into. You might do research to learn how to get your homemade pasta sauce from your stovetop to the shelves at your local grocery store, or you might pick up the phone and boldly ask a relative to lend you the money you need to get started.
That’s the power of goal affirmations. When you repeat them each day, you’re constantly reminding yourself of your goals. When your goals are at the top of your mind, you’re more likely to take the actions you need to make your goals a reality.
The Takeaway
Affirmations are declarations you can make to consciously shift your thoughts from something negative to something positive. By creating your own positive affirmations, you can start to consciously choose thoughts that have a positive impact in your life.
When practiced each day, positive affirmations can help you form new beliefs or thought patterns, creating an abundance mindset. And an abundance mindset can transform your life by motivating you to take powerful, aligned action toward your goals.
Take action now: Decide whether you’ll use a Mantra Affirmation or Goal Affirmation to shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. Then, use the steps outlined here to create your own positive affirmation. Write it in your journal each day, or write it on a sticky note and post it somewhere you’ll see it every day.
The more you repeat positive affirmations, the more it reinforces a pattern of positive thinking. Over time, instead of defaulting to negative thoughts, you’ll naturally start to think more abundantly.