Affirmations are a promising way to go about reconstructing limiting beliefs because they only require your attention and awareness to get started. Getting into the habit of simply saying your affirmations out loud, thinking them in your head, or writing them down somewhere you’ll see them often, will slowly but surely start changing the way you feel from the inside out.
And to make your affirmations even more powerful, Yusim suggests bringing as much heart and emotion into them as possible: “Say it out loud, like you really meant it, and put as much emotion and conviction as you can into it,” she previously told mindbodygreen.
On top of that, try visualizing or feeling whatever you’re affirming as you say it—what does it sound like? Look like? Feel like? “These simple practices change the affirmation from a cognitive exercise to one that also incorporates your heart and body,” Yusim explains.
As Leeds previously explained to mindbodygreen, it’s also essential to back up your affirmations with aligned action. “If you tell yourself that you treat your body with love and care but don’t spend time moving your body or nourishing yourself with healthy food,” she explains, “you are being incongruent, and your affirmations will lose their effectiveness.”
You can repeat your affirmations at any time of day, but according to Leeds, the closer to falling asleep or waking up that you do them, the better. “Other great times are while you get ready for the day and as you wind down for bed, especially while you are looking in the mirror, for example, or while doing your hair,” she says, noting that pairing affirmations with self-care activities can also be highly effective.
