Daily Affirmations - Helpful or Hokum?

MsCzar

Anybody here find saying those those motivational weight-loss affirmations aloud to be Actually Helpful?
Naturally skeptical me sees them as the magical chain letter of weight-loss. 'Speak these 20 affirmations every morning for 21 days and magically lose weight!' And can anyone hear the word 'affirmation' and not picture Stuart Smalley?
On the other hand, maybe there's something to it? Besides, it's free and can't hurt - other than taking up five minutes of your morning.
What say you?

Mama530

Ok, I chuckled at Stuart Smalley.

While, I don’t do the positive affirmations, it reminded me that I used to post positive reminders to myself on my mirror. They did help me and I think I’ll do it again.

For me, the affirmations need to be personal and meaningful to me for me to use them.

goal06082021

Different strokes for different folks. If you find it helpful, empowering, motivating, comforting, whatever - by all means, affirm away. Absolute worst-case scenario, like you said, you spend five minutes doing something silly but harmless. It's also easier to drown out your Jerkbrain when it starts telling you negative things about yourself, if you're saying positive things out loud instead. Same logic for why the military has marching songs, can't think about how tired you are if you're busy chanting.

My husband had major surgery recently. In the days leading up to it, I caught myself saying aloud--to no one in particular--affirming statements like "The surgery will go smoothly." I don't believe I caused that to happen (it did go smoothly, he's home and recovering well), but using my human mouth to physically form and speak those words out loud where I could hear them with my human ears did serve to help keep me focused on that desired outcome rather than ruminating on all the ways it could have gone not-smoothly.

MsCzar

Glad to hear hubby is on the mend.

88olds

I do sleep affirmations every night. I think they help me. It’s part of my routine now.

I didn’t try WL affirmations but I did some other (silly?) stuff aimed at positive thinking like writing motivational words like determination or focus on sticky notes and putting them around the house. I wrote out story boards for my weight loss week on Sunday evenings. I talked out loud to myself, argued really, in front of a mirror. Is any of that the reason I lost 100 lbs and have maintained for years? It apparently didn’t hurt me.

I think that just like we have habitual behaviors, we have habitual thoughts. When listening and concentrating on affirmations, it’s time off from bad habits. Anything to break the negative chain is good. Control the mind and the body will follow.

callsitlikeiseeit

"As it is written, so it shall be"?

Some find them useful, others do not.

I'm weird in that I will be quick to blow them off, but I was raised by a grandma who, though a science based nurse, also did hoodoo (she grew up in the Bayous), so.... go figure. And some of her habits got ingrained in me, so I will do weird *kitten*, too, and hubby rolls his eyes and I tell him to hush LOL

So, mantras, or prayers (no different than positive affirmations)... are all things to focus our energy, and many believe that the energy we put out into the universe we will get back. So, do what works for you, and if it helps you stay focused and on track, then affirm away!

rosebarnalice

Oh our marvelous powerful brains!

I sabotaged myself for so long with insidious negative self talk-- I'm not thin enough or pretty enough, it doesn't matter how hard I try to lose weight I'm just a big fat loser and will never succeed, nobody loves me because I'm fat.

Our brains LOVE pattern and making sense- which is why we see the man in the moon or Elvis in burned toast. So with all that self talk, I was priming my brain to make sense of the world using those patterns. I smile at the cashier and he doesn't like back? Yep, it's 'cause I'm fat and worthless! Couldn't possibly have anything to do with what's going on in his life, because I've already prepped myself for the experience through my own brains toxic lens.

When I first started deliberately saying positive body and well-being affirmations like "My body is sensual, sacred and stable", and "I am loved and I am lovable", and "I am a source of healing in the world" they would literally get caught in my throat because I didn't believe them. But I kept on.

Now, I smile at a cashier and he doesn't smile back, my thought is , "I'm sending him healing".

Affirmations help me prokpt my brain to recognize patterns of love, health, comfort, grace, growth, gratitude, sensuality, happiness, and abundance. And thus prompted, I see a lot more of those things than I used to!

ninerbuff

People who succeed in whatever endeavor they take on have on main thing in common..................they believe in themselves and believe they can achieve it.
I find that daily affirmations are a way to engage in POSITIVE re enforcement. It's why I post it EVERYDAY since I've been here (over 11 years now) on my workout thread.
You gain nothing by being negative on outlook of things with the possible recognition that help may be needed. People who usually scoff at affirmations really don't believe enough either in themselves or the process. When you look at countries like Japan, their workers usually have a daily work affirmation within the whole company before starting work either by singing or just some comradery get together. IMO, if one thinks it's childish or rubbish, I'm betting they aren't even close to where they want to be in being happy with themselves.
Can you imagine me being a trainer and telling a client "you can't achieve this", "you'll always be fat and out of shape", "you're just wasting my time"? I give positive re enforcement all the time so I know it works. But the person who has to believe it first is you.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition