The language you use about yourself makes all the difference
I am very much someone who believes you can speak things into existence. I’m serious about acknowledging the things in this world that bring me joy. I’m equally as determined to ignore the things I don’t like quite so much in order to give them less space in my mind. I think that the more you talk about something good, the more magnitude you give to the presence of that goodness in your life. This general concept is the guiding principle behind affirmations as a way to encourage positive self-image.
To practice affirmations, the participant should speak aloud positive self-concepts in order to have a more optimistic perspective of themself. If you haven’t yet tried practicing affirmations and you’re skeptical, look into the countless studies that explore the neurological and psychological effects of self-affirmations. The general understanding is that self-affirmations may activate reward and self-processing systems in the brain, creating a sort of learned behavior or belief. Anyways, I’m not naive enough to think that if you say something it must automatically become true, but the point here is that sometimes certain phenomena and feelings become more real when we’ve said them aloud.
As affirmations have become popular, it’s become common for people to share phrases of manifestation that resonate with them, like “I am worthy of love”, “my life is full of potential”, etc.. But, recently a phrase that’s gained popularity on social media is, “I am so lucky”.
I’m not really a fan of that.
There is something that just seems so unhealthy about interpreting things in your life as simply a product of random, uncontrollable luck (or a lack thereof). I don’t deny that sometimes luck seems to swing through at some very necessary times, but when I’ve actually worked hard and feel deserving of a positive outcome, I’d prefer to give the credit to myself rather than the invisible, fickle will of the universe.
I also find comfort in my faith that good things come to those who work for them; it’s reassuring to realize that if I continue to dedicate myself to something my success will eventually come to fruition.
I encourage you to learn more about affirmations as a method for creating a better perception of yourself, but also want to emphasize that you make sure you are really speaking about yourself in a positive way. Make sure you’re not encouraging unhealthy, adverse visions of your life.
Sources:
“Affirmations, Manifestations and 45 Manifesting Examples to Get You Started.” Mål Paper, malpaper.com/blogs/news/affirmations-manifestations-and-45-manifesting-examples-to-get-you-started. Accessed 7 Mar. 2023.
“Is There Science behind Positive Daily Affirmations?” Mål Paper, malpaper.com/blogs/news/is-there-science-behind-positive-daily-affirmations#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20yes%2C%20positive%20affirmations.
Norcross, John. Evidence-Based Therapy Relationships Evidence-Based Therapy Relationships CONTENTS. 2010.
Sherman, David K. “Self-Affirmation: Understanding the Effects.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass, vol. 7, no. 11, Nov. 2013, pp. 834–845, https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12072.