Release the Brakes, Part II

Jack Canfield's Success Principles #10

Today, we continue the second part of this lesson about changing our thought lives. If you missed reading Part I, please go back and read it before continuing.

As survivors of abuse, we may be living with our abuser's negative comments in our memories. If we have survived a traumatic event, our minds may be repeating a negative affirmation that keeps us trapped in chaotic emotions.

The mind is a powerful tool, and we can use it to do almost anything we want. This lesson provides an opportunity to change the way we think so that we can regain control of our lives.

(1) Use Jack's nine guidelines for creating effective affirmations.
An affirmation, if you recall, is a positive statement that we can use to change our behavior. By using new thoughts and images, we can achieve goals that once seemed impossible. The guidelines are:

a. Start with I am.
The brain hears these two small words as a command and gets busy making the statement come true. Interestingly, I am is also one of the names for God.

b. Use the present tense, not the future tense in your affirmations.
For example, I am thrilled to see my name on the New York Times Bestseller list, is a better statement than this one: I will be thrilled to see my name on the New York Times Bestseller list.

c. State it in the positive.
I realized yesterday that I have an affirmation in my Goals Book that is stated in the negative. It reads, I avoid doctors and prescription drugs. It should read, I am feeling terrific by implementing alternative medicine to maintain my health.

d. Keep it brief.
Like an advertising jingle, a catchy affirmation that includes rhymes will help us to internalize our goals. An example of this is, I am feeling fit and alive weighing 135.

e. Make it specific.
The affirmation, I am happy driving a new red car, is not as powerful as I am happy driving my new red Porsche. Putting in clear details will help our minds achieve our goals.

f. Use at least one dynamic emotion.
I was having trouble thinking of emotion words, so I looked in my thesaurus yesterday. I came up with hundreds of words for happy. Our language is so rich with specific words, such as merry, content, mirthful, and gleeful. Just reading these words made me feel happy. So, we could plug in an emotion to the statement about the red car so that it now reads, I am gleeful driving my new red Porsche.

g. Include an action word ending in -ing.
The Porsche statement includes the word driving. We could make this affirmation more specific by saying, I am gleeful tearing up the highway in my new Porsche.

h. Make affirmations for yourself, not others.
The affirmation, I am happy watching my son clean his room, will not work. It is not your behavior that you're trying to change, it's your son's. Instead, this should read, I am confident about shaping my son's behavior with clear directions and consequences.

i. Add or something better to the end of every affirmation.
The affirmation, I am happy to read my name on the New York Times Bestseller list, or something better, gives the mind room to imagine even greater possibilities. Perhaps mine will use this statement as a jumping-off point to create opportunities to speak on the radio, appear on television, or meet influential people.

(2) Create memorable affirmations.
In order for our affirmations to really sink in, there are several key points to remember:

-Visualize everything from your perspective within the affirmation.
In other words, if you're gleeful in that Porsche, put yourself behind the wheel, not standing beside it.
-Hear the sounds around you as you visualize yourself doing this.
Imagine the gurgle of the engine, the screech of the tires, the roar of the wind.
-Feel the emotions.
Think about the pounding of your heart as you shift gears and stomp on the accelerator. Feel the rush of adrenalin as you whip your Porsche around curves.
-Describe what you are experiencing as you write your affirmation.
Get into the moment and make your affirmation come alive with clear writing.
-Edit your affirmations, as needed.
Check your affirmations before committing to them to make sure that they include all of the above elements.

(3) Put your affirmations to work.
Review your affirmations when you wake up, mid-day, and again before falling asleep. If possible, read them aloud. Close your eyes and experience fully what you have written, including sounds and emotions. Repeat each affirmation twice.

(4) Make your affirmations work overtime to reach your goals faster.
If you really want to make your brain work harder, post your affirmations on index cards all around the house. Cut out magazine pictures of what you want (the red Porsche) and stick a cut-out photo of yourself in it. Repeat your affirmations when you're doing mindless things, such as waiting in line or sitting in traffic. Record your affirmations and listen to them as you are falling asleep. Put them on your screensaver. In other words, do whatever you can to bring them to the forefront of your brain as often as possible.

(5) Believe that affirmations really work.
Jack Canfield writes that he went from earning $25,000 to $100,000 in just one year's time. Ten years ago, I began visualizing and praying for God to send me a gentle husband. Joe showed up 21 days later.

Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." That's a powerful promise that we can believe in.

Today's Challenge
Write your top 10 goals as positive affirmations. Copy them onto
3 x 5 cards, and write them down in your Goals Book. Over the next couple of months, keep reviewing and editing your list of 101 goals until they are all stated as positive affirmations.