Dr. Noah St John explains why affirmations often fail: statements trigger disbelief, but questions activate the brain's problem-solving mode. Instead of "I am rich," ask "Why am I so rich?" Repeated empowering questions rewire thought patterns and shift your mindset.
Talk to me a little bit about what somebody could do today to start removing the trash from their head.
Well, one of the things that I teach is my Afformations method. Not affirmations, but Afformations. And that's the power of questions, right? Something I invented in 1997. So I've been teaching this for 30 years now. Instead of saying, I am rich, to which your brain says, no, you're not, you say, why am I so rich? Or why am I so happy? Why am I always in the right place at the right time? See, these are Afformations. Rather than affirmations. So an affirmation is a statement of something you want to be true, but 75% of the time we don't believe it. So instead, try using afformations. Why am I so happy? Why am I so rich? Why am I always in the right place with the right people? You know, like great people like yourself. And you afform it, and then it becomes firm, and there's your life.
When you leave the stage tonight here at TEDxMeisnerBoulevard, what do you want people to take away from your speak?
Well, really, I want them to know that they can achieve more than they ever thought possible. So many times when we're holding ourselves back, right, as I call it, we're driving down the road of life with one foot on the brake.
