Do Affirmations & Visualizations Really Work?

I hope you're staying safe and healthy during COVID-19. Last month, I started The Success Principles Workbook by Chicken Soup for the Soul Co-Author Jack Canfield to stay motivated. Every week, I'm posting my feedback and notes from the previous week's chapter for anyone who needs an accountability partner. I need one too, so I'm just using this as a way to keep going. :)

Chapter 5 is about using affirmations and visualizations to help achieve your goals. Affirmations are detailed thoughts and statements of what your goals coming to life in your mind. They help your brain to focus on bridging the gap between your current reality and the one you want to live in. The book gives some tips on how to write affirmations for your goals- start with "I am," write everything else in present tense, be positive, be short and specific, etc. A very typical statement can look like this: I am so happy to deposit my $100,000 check into my business checking account.

Jack says to write your affirmations down and read them in the morning and at night. I love that he says you don't have to know the 'how' yet. He shared an example in The Success Principles book that Jim Carrey carried around with him a $10 million check he wrote to himself long before he became a successful movie star. He dated it ten years in the future and wrote "acting services rendered." He was a struggling artist at the time, and he looked at that check every day to remind himself of his goal. As we all know, he finally achieved it and I think he made a lot more than what was written on that check.

I think right now my biggest affirmation is this: I am so happy and grateful to live a healthy lifestyle. I weigh 135 lbs and fit into all of my favorite clothes, especially my designer jeans.

This affirmation gives me hope that I can wear some of my favorite clothes again and makes me think twice before heading out to a fast food restaurant. It's even motivated me to get up before 7am to hit 100 golf balls at the driving range before going on my daily 2+ mile morning walk. Yes, I'm tired, but I feel already so accomplished by 9am. It brightens my mood and keeps me feeling uplifted throughout the day.

The chapter walks me through writing affirmations for the goals I've listed for myself in the previous chapter. I love incorporating sounds and scents into my visions. "Birds are chirping outside my window. I smell freshly brewed coffee, a buttery croissant, and fresh strawberries waiting for me next to my bed as I get up..."

Listing emotions also heighten my sense of reality in my affirmations: "I wake up with a smile, so thankful I'm doing exactly what I want to do and getting paid a lot for it."

I also created a vision board. I want to do this old-school style when I'm able to get my hands on some magazines and a poster board, but for now I made it on Canva. It's currently set as my desktop image on my Macbook Pro. I look at it daily, and it makes me smile. Jack says to linger on each image and feel the sensation that is inside every scenario. Dream big, don't hold back. What would make you really happy? What do you want to do? Where do you want to live or visit? What will you own? I added some keywords to clarify my vision. When you see it, you should feel it.