Kevin Hogan

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Most of you reading this article have probably heard of positive affirmations, and many of you have probably even used them. For those of you who have used them, I am betting the results were at best rather mixed.

There are some problems inherent with random affirmations.

Quite often, the affirmation runs up against your conscience and your unconscious mind knows you’re fibbing.

I weigh 180 pounds.

Affirmation: “I weigh 120 pounds.”

The unconscious mind responds appropriately and finds a way to punish you, often through some self-sabotage mechanism. The brain is a pretty amazing thing….

Yes affirmations can be helpful if repeated often enough and for long enough, but they’re really not that impressive in the final analysis.

The problem with affirmations is that they are only statements and until your mind accepts them as a statement of fact, they have very little or polarizing (opposite effect) power.

Now, research shows that almost anything you repeat and plug into your brain with emotion…. often enough and long enough… you will eventually believe it.

Self-brainwashing can work IF you get past the self-sabotage.

There is, however, a much more powerful method.

Want to know what it is?

How to Use Affirmations Effectively

Utilize questions! Positive Affirmative Questions: What are you saying to yourself? Photo used by license StockExpert

The brain SOLVES and feels COMPELLED to SOLVE questions.

I’m going to call these Positive Affirmative Questions (PAQ), to be precise.

The difference between statements and questions is profound.

Using a Positive Affirmative Statement (PAS), you are simply trying to convince yourself that something is true, when more often than not – it’s not. You’re lying to yourself, and that creates all kinds of problems in the mind.

By using Positive Affirmative Questions (PAQ), you are setting in motion the mechanism for your brain to find and focus on the solution and enter into a reprogramming cycle to seek and believe things which are positive and useful to you.

Here’s some examples:

PAS

“I feel good.”

“I feel good about myself.”

VS.

PAQ

“How can I feel good about myself?”

“Why do I feel good about myself?”

See the difference between PAQ and PAS?

It’s profound.

PAS

“I like myself.”

“I like myself just the way I am.”

VS.

PAQ

“What do I like about myself?”

“What can I change about myself so I like myself more?”

Amazing huh? The question is investigative, it’s motivating in and of itself. There is nothing fake or incongruent about it. It’s a REAL, HONEST, SELF-VALIDATING strategy for achievement.

PAS

“I am successful.”

“I am successful just the way I am.”

VS.

PAQ

“Why am I becoming more successful?”

“What can I do to make myself more successful?”

I hope you can see the difference between the two. Let’s look at some of the differences in detail.

A Closer Look

Saying, “I feel good” or “I feel good about myself” can be effective if there’s some truth in the statement. If you already feel good or at least okay, the positive statements will reinforce and heighten the good feeling.

No problem.

If you’re feeling bad or depressed, you will struggle to change your mood simply by repeating, “I feel good,” because you are trying to convince your mind of something it knows is not true.

Have you ever tried to change someone’s beliefs just by repeatedly stating the opposite? It’s hard work!

Exactly.

It doesn’t work.

The PAQ.s are much more powerful. When you ask yourself, “How can I feel good about myself”, you’re not trying to convince yourself of something you know is not true. Instead, you’re asking your mind to look for the positive and the USEFUL, and this will quickly change your focus and is the quickest route to change your feeling from bad to good.

The very PAQ. “Why do I feel good about myself?” is especially powerful because not only is it a question programming your mind to seek out reasons to feel good, but also contains the positive statement, that you feel good.

Another PAS. from above is “I am successful just the way I am.” The dangerous thing about this is you might actually succeed in making yourself believe it.

Once you believe such a statement, you’re stuck because it takes away your motivation and drive.

If you are convinced you’re successful “just the way you are,” you have no reason to better yourself and move forward.

Make sense?

The PAQ. “What can I do to make myself more successful” does the exact opposite. By the clever use of the word “more,” it’s telling your mind that you are already a success in some way, and then it’s programming your mind to focus on using it’s enormous power to find and use ways to become even more successful.

Cool huh?

The difference between PAQ and PAS is vast.

Test this yourself for one month and track the changes you experience.

Ask yourself, “What powerful questions can I ask myself today to change my life for the better?”

I’ve identified 12 of the life patterns which cause us to trip up – and make the same mistakes again and again. To discover which of the 12 patterns you have been the victim of and how to eliminate self-sabotage in your life (or those of your clients) you can pick up the CD program and workbook, LIFESTORMS: The Paradox of Overcoming Self Sabotage to Achieve Love, Power, Money and Happiness.

Lifestorms: 12 Obstacles to Achievement: The Paradox of Overcoming Self Sabotage to Achieve Love, Power, Money and Happiness.

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  • Do you ever know you should start on a project but don’t?
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  • How to identify which of the 12 negative life patterns you live.
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Learn More About Lifestorms or to order

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