Affirmation information

Me, But Better was created to be a tool for people like you who want to improve themselves and achieve more in their lives.

An affirmation is a proven way of programming your mind so that you think and behave in ways that support your personal success. Affirmations are an antidote to the negative messages we are bombarded with in the media and a way for you to eradicate self-sabotage.

Experiments have shown that when a downward force is placed on an outstretched arm, the same person can resist anything from 3-5 times as much pressure when they repeat the words “I am strong” out loud compared to when they repeat the words “I am weak”.

The words we hear have a direct effect on how we feel and what we are capable of. If our internal dialogue is negative then this has a detrimental effect on our well-being, capability and success.

If we replace this self-talk with positive statements about the world and about ourselves then you can start to change your reality for the better from the inside out.

How do I create an affirmation?

Think of something that you would like to be true about you or your life.

Write it as a positive statement in the present tense.

This means that instead of saying “I no longer want to feel ill”, say “I feel fit and healthy” or “I make choices every day that are making me healthier and healthier” or “I enjoy regular healthy exercise and eating fresh, nutritious foods”. Instead of saying “I want to get out of debt” say “I have all the money I need” or “I enjoy watching my savings increase” or “I notice the wealth of opportunities around me and take action to increase my income”.

Repeat this process for as many areas as you would like so that you have a number of positive statements. Common areas that people use affirmations are Health, Finances, Career, Relationships, Family, Study, Emotional Wellbeing and Spirituality.

Every affirmation you create can be entered into Me, But Better and will start to shape your thinking and actions to support your success.

How do I use affirmations?

When you state declare or proclaim something to the world then you assert it as a truth. The word origin is from the Latin affirmare which means to present something as firm or fixed, to assert as true.

There are three factors that influence the power of your affirmation.

1. The words you choose
2. Whether you say them out loud
3. The emotional state you are in as you say them

For maximum power make sure that your affirmation is a positive statement in the present tense that you say out loud with enthusiasm or an appropriate energy in your voice and body. The more that your whole being resonates with the sentiment of your affirmation, the more powerful it will be.

Self-Affirmations, as they are widely called are an ancient tool that have been a component of religious and spiritual practises throughout the ages. More recently they have been embraced by sports coaches, life coaches and motivational speakers the world over because of the scientific proof that they work.

Studies in America have proven that affirmations have helped students achieve better grades, they have been seen to reduce stress in people and also to improve problem solving. In a study carried out in Canada, published in 2012, Error-Related Negativity (ERN), is a pronounced wave of electrical activity in the brain that occurs within 100ms of making an error on a task. The researchers carried out tests and found that self-affirmation improves performance and increases neuro-affective sensitivity to task errors.

Essentially, what this means is that if we have two people. One of them has been regularly affirming “I am a confident communicator”. As they both go about their daily business, they are talking with a lack of confidence, the brain of the person who has been using the affirmation will note the error (i.e. the lack of confidence in their behaviour compared to the statement they have been affirming) and correct the error enabling them to speak more confidently.

The brain of the person who did not use the affirmation will not even notice the error, their lack of confidence, and so will just continue speaking in a non-confident manner.

Science shows that mindful practises like these are very effective at ensuring that your sub-conscious and conscious minds co-operate to vastly increase your chances of success.

Me, But Better can be used for Affirmations like “I keep my body healthy by eating good food”. However there are other uses for Me, But Better, it can be used to affirm personal goals. Goal setting is a very important part of the Affirmation balanced diet. Goals are things that are set for the future that could be sport or financial related, maybe you have a family goal or a learning goal. Below are a few examples of the typical affirmations that would fall into the Goals category.

I have 8k in savings.

I am a confident runner and can run 10k in 40mins.

I have a clear vision and direction for my business over the next 12 months.

I am a fluent Spanish speaker and converse regularly with my Spanish colleagues.

Goals are events/situations that are usually where you want to be, not where you currently are. You should use the present tense and positive words when constuction your Goal Affirmations. This is a hypothetical example of a Goal Affirmation;
I am the Production Director of £3m T/O company, I live in Manor House, I drive a Range Rover and holiday regularly with my Family.

This example illustrates a crucial point about being specific in your Affirmations. The Production Director is the next big promotion of this hypothetical mid-level Manager. Manor House is a beautiful house in an area where he would love to live and he has always seen himself in his dream car, a Range Rover, the promotion would unlock the finances to allow this to be fulfilled. He has a young family and so to counter overworking to achieve the promotion, holidaying regularly with his family is a crucial balance he wants to achieve.

So to sum up, be specific and use present tense and positive wording in your Goal Affirmations.

Are you grateful for where you are in life? Are you amazed at how great your kids are, do you have a fantastic spouse? Do you realise how amazing it is that your body breaths in 23,000 times a day and you are barely aware of it? Isn’t it amazing that this little blue marble of a planet can sustain life and you are one of it’s inhabitants. If you think about it we all have something to be grateful for. No one has a perfect life and not everyone will have health or a brilliant family or job situation to be thankful for, but every one of us could find something if we look hard enough. So you can use Me, But Better to be grateful for the good things in life and you can also use Gratitudes for the things you have not yet experienced. 

Taking stock of what you do have and being able to be thankful for that seems to free up some space in your mind to enable you to be a little more altruistic, which often leads to new experiences and opportunities and who knows where they might lead.

Some examples of Gratitudes;

I am thankful for my beautiful wife and children.

I am grateful that I am free to make my own choices in life.

I am surrounded by brilliant friends and family.

I am thankful for the abundant wealth I have been entrusted with.

(You can use this even if you do not have significant wealth right now).

If you do not currently use Gratitudes I would urge you to try as they are crucial in this fast-paced, consumer driven, self-oriented world.