Do affirmations work best when they are written or spoken? How often they should be used in a day? Are there any specific “rules” about how to use affirmations to make energy shifts and align yourself with what you want in life? Today’s questions come from an awesome reader who says:
I’ve been trying affirmations for a while now. From the many books I’ve read on the topic, often the author never specifies whether affirmations are to be “thought” or spoken aloud. Some authors have stated that it really doesn’t matter if you think it or speak it. However, I’ve also read that the more traditional way is to speak them; thus, to “affirm.” They also don’t always specify how often to go through your affirmations. Once daily?? Several times a day? What is your opinion on speaking aloud versus thinking affirmations and how often they should be used in order to be effective.
These are all great questions, so let’s get right into it, shall we?
Should affirmations be spoken or written?
This depends on you, and what you resonate with most, but I usually recommend a mix of both.
The case for written affirmations
I like using written affirmations because you can put them on little sticky notes and then leave them in strategic places where you are likely to see them frequently throughout your day. Each time you happen upon one of your stealthily planted affirmation notes, it provides an extra boost to your vibration and helps to reinforce the “new program” that you are trying to “code” into your mind.
Written affirmations are powerful because the human brain (once trained to read, obviously) is wired to automatically read any words it comes across, and coming across affirmations that you instantly repeat to yourself whenever you see them will definitely help you absorb those thoughts and feelings faster.
(Side note: If you don’t believe me about the automatic word-reading thing, be sure to check out the Stroop Effect and see for yourself!)
The case for spoken affirmations
While I am huge fan of written, leave-‘em-everywhere affirmations, I also strongly recommend that people also use spoken affirmations. Why? For a couple of reasons, actually:
- Because the voice that has the most powerful influence on you is always your own, so speaking your affirmations aloud is a great way to super-charge them.
- When you speak your affirmations aloud, you get instant body-feedback on what you’re really feeling about them.
That second point is really important: if you’re not really in alignment with what you’re trying to manifest via your affirmations, you will instantly be aware of it through a tightening in your chest, or an uneasy feeling in your stomach, or what have you (everyone’s body reactions are different, so what you feel may be different than what someone else would feel).
This means that simply talking out loud and saying your affirmations will give you valuable insight as to where your alignment currently stands with respect to your “new program”. If you feel great when you’re saying your affirmations, then keep going and have fun! If you’re not feeling so good when you say them, you know that you still have work to do in order to make your vibrational shift (in which case, you could try some grid-work exercises or create a vision board to help you increase your alignment).
How often should you use affirmations?
When it comes to affirmations, the more often you can fit them into your day, the better! This is why using a mix of written and spoken affirmations can really help to make this tool work for you. In addition, you can also repeat your affirmations silently to yourself.
Finally, I’d just like to say: don’t be afraid to get creative! If you want to sing your affirmations in the shower, or paint them across a canvas, or write them in the sand on the beach, go for it! There are no hard-and-fast rules about how to use affirmations to help you manifest your dreams and goals; the best way to use them is in a way that feels right to you and helps to generate excitement, joy, and positive feelings about what you want.
photo credit: pixabay.com cc (modified by me)
Just watched a documentary about the band No Doubt and it is so LOA. First off, they played music and sang out of the sheer love, elation and natural high of just doing so. They figured they would continue to do what they loved. They affirmed that they were going to make it, regardless of the fact that most places where they played were empty, people doubted them, though curious about them, they had to promote themselves and a whole bunch of other stuff it would seem would stop them, yet, they made it, as the next natural step. It is not that the road to stardom was an easy one. For this group it was not and it did take a few years, but they did not pay any attention to that, just their goal. Good one.
I’ll have to go look up their story! Sounds really inspiring! 🙂 Reminds me a lot of Rachel Platten’s story, too — it seemed like “Fight Song” came out of nowhere and hit platinum overnight, but in reality she’d been working at her music and trying to make things happen for herself for 12 years before that song came out. She almost gave up, but reconnected with her “why”, got reinspired to keep going, and that’s how “Fight Song” came about.
Just saw the last half of the Wizard of Oz. The affirmation in the end “There is no place like home” worked for Dorothy and she could always get there whenever she wanted!