Why You Need a Daily Affirmation Practice | Jack Canfield

Hi there, Jack Canfield here and today I want to explain why you need a daily affirmation practice in order to open yourself up to receive all the things you want to deserve and ultimately live a happier and more fulfilling life. Successful people, from top salespeople and entrepreneurs to best selling authors and Olympic athletes, have figured out that using willpower to power this success and is not enough. You need to let go of any and all negative thoughts and images and bombard your subconscious mind with new thoughts and images that are positive and stated in the present tense. And the technique you use to do this is called affirmations, which is simply a statement that describes a goal in its already completed state. Two examples would be I am joyfully walking across the stage as I received my MBA degree from from the Wharton Business School or I'm so happy and grateful that I'm now crossing the finish line of the Boston Marathon. In addition to all of the feedback I've received from hundreds of thousands of students from around the world about the effectiveness of their having used affirmations, there is now new academic research that shows in high stress level environments, those who do daily affirmations have lower stress levels and more success than those who don't. Repeating affirmations daily helps to reprogram the unconscious mind for success. It helps eliminate negative and limiting beliefs and transforms your comfort zone from a limited one, keeping you trapped in mediocrity to a more expanded one where anything is possible. It also helps you replace your I can'ts with I cans and your fears and doubts with confidence and certainty. Affirmations are daily reminders to your unconscious mind to stay focused on your goals and and to come up with solutions to challenges and obstacles that might get in the way. Affirmations also can create a higher vibration of happiness, joy, appreciation and gratitude that then, through the law of attraction, magnetize people, resources and opportunities to come to you to help you achieve your goals. Now, whether you know it or not, you are always using affirmations, but usually not to ones that will bring you what you want. Things like Everything I eat goes straight to my hips. I'm never going to be able to meet someone I can love. I never catch a break. No matter what I do, I never seem to get ahead. The daily use of affirmations interrupts and eventually totally replaces this barrage of negative thoughts and beliefs. To achieve this, you must continually flood your unconscious with thoughts and images of the new reality you wish to create. Now, I'm going to share with you two sets of guidelines for creating powerful Affirmations that the long form and a short form, they both work, though I prefer the longer form. First, here's the eight guidelines for the long form. For creating effective affirmations, you may want to write these down. They're also in my book, the Success Principles. Number one, start with the words I am. These are the two most powerful words in the English language. Number two, always use the present tense. Number three, state it in the positive. Affirm what you do want, not what you don't want. Number four, keep it brief so the subconscious mind can remember it. Number five, make it specific. Don't just say a car. Say a red Porsche Carrera 911. Whatever. Number six, include an action word ending with ing, I am acting, I'm walking across the stage, I'm depositing my check, etc. Number seven, include at least one dynamic emotion or feeling word. It's the feelings that provide the fuel that motivate you and get you to take the action to get to where you want to go. And finally, make affirmations for yourself, not for others. Now, here's an example of an affirmation following these guidelines. I am joyfully driving my new red Porsche Carrera convertible down the Pacific coast highway in Malibu. Or, if you're more ecologically minded, you can make that a new Tesla. Or you can use the following simple formula. It's a really simple formula that always works. I am so happy and grateful that I am now. And then you fill in the blank. Example would be, I am so happy and grateful that I am now earning 150,000 a year. Or I am so happy and grateful that I am now celebrating having achieved my ideal weight of 140 pounds. One of my most famous affirmations is I am enjoying living in my beautiful beachfront villa on the Kaanapali coast of Maui, or somewhere better. I started writing that affirmation in 1989 and in 2011. That's right, 22 years later, I had something better. You can see the picture of the house of Maui. It's amazing. Now, make sure to take five to ten minutes every day to repeat your affirmations, and preferably out loud with high energy and enthusiasm. Now, the best times are in the early morning when you first wake up, and at night right before you go to bed, because that's when your mind is most relaxed and most able to take that input in deeply. Now, keeping these daily affirmation strategies in mind, I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete. After you've done watching this video. Write down three affirmations for yourself that affirm you having already achieved three of your goals and dreams. And write down the time of day that you'll commit to practicing your affirmations. Is it when you wake up in the morning before you go to sleep, or midday when you need a little mental pick me up? And to hold yourself accountable? Go ahead and leave a comment below with your chosen time of day and I'll follow up to make sure you're staying on track. Thank you for watching. And remember, nothing will change for the better until you do. If you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel. For more videos like this one, and for some additional resources on the power of affirmations and self talk, visit my website at jackcampfield. Com.