Why Affirmations Work

Affirmations are short phrases that serve to affirm - affirm intentions, affirm encouragement, affirm beliefs, affirm positivity.

Using affirmations boosts self-belief and optimism. Repeating positive statements enables us to change long-standing thought patterns or beliefs. Our thoughts also affect our emotions, and if our thoughts are empowered and positive it only follows that we’ll feel better about ourselves, our place in the world, and in our ability to handle whatever is put in front of us.

There’s no denying that words have power. Masaru Emoto in his fascinating study of ice crystal photography revealed the ability of our minds to manifest consciousness in physical form. When water was exposed to positive and negative words alike and then frozen and observed under a microscope, the result was ice crystals that were either perfectly symmetrical or completely distorted depending on the vibrational frequency of the word it was exposed to.

While we as adults may have become familiar with the concept of affirmations over the past decade, for some it’s still considered a new concept or practice to bring to our young ones.

All children suffer self-doubt at varying stages as they grow and learn. Children may also at times bear the brunt of our time poor lives and feel easily criticised by a misplaced word or tone that impacts on their sensitive feelings, especially as they rely on their primary care givers and peers for support, a sense of belonging, and sense of self. Yet gifting our children with affirmations is something they can use on a daily basis to strengthen confidence within themselves and their abilities.

Affirmations are portable, they can be done anywhere, at any time, and may provide a child with a sense of hope, of goodness, of allowing, of positivity, a sense of feeling safe and empowered, while at the same time encouraging them to develop the all important skill of self awareness.

To familiarise our children with the power of affirmations from a young age allows them to cultivate and harness an incredible tool that they can then take with them as they grow into teenagers and eventually adults.

Children are especially open to the power of positive suggestion as their brains are still developing, and like little sponges, they soak up everything they experience. But children possess something else that we as adults sometimes lack and could do with more of in order to take our affirmations to the next level, and that is the power of belief. Children believe, in magic, in possibility, in us.

There is no doubt that using affirmations on a daily basis allows us all to step into a world of possibility, even if at first we don’t believe that we are great, special and worthy. The more we practice affirmations the more positive their influence on our mindset and overall well-being.

And after all, it must be said, that we are certainly worthy and wonderful beings!