Affirmations - Great When They Work! (Step #5)

Step #5 for Effective Affirmations - Connect Images and Emotions.

Connecting images and emotions to your mantra substantially increases it;s effectiveness. Anchoring these connections gives you intense and instant recall.
      • Isn't it just make believe? Remember that your brain can't tell the difference between what's actually happening and what you imagine is happening. The legendary Zig Ziglar told of Vietnam P.O.W. who kept his sanity while in prison by playing a round of golf every day in his head. He imagined it so vividly that when he returned home to play has first real round of golf in over 5 years, he had knocked 20 strokes off his game! In his groundbreaking 1980 book In Pursuit of Excellence, sports psychologist Terry Orlick stressed the importance of visualization by saying "Athletes who make the fastest progress and those who ultimately become their best make extensive use of performance imagery". Test the concept for yourself:
      Vividly image you are holding a lemon in your hand. Notice the bright yellow color, see the texture on the skin as it catches the light. Place the lemon on a cutting board and with a sharp knife vividly imaging cutting open the lemon, See and feel the lemon juice spraying out. Now pick up the lemon, smell it and take a bite.
      I'll bet your mouth was watering, you may even have puckered at the intense sourness of it.  All this bodily reaction occurred and the lemon didn't even exist! Now that you can take it seriously and let's get started.
      • Create a Vivid Image. Before you can anchor the "new you", remember that detailed image and intense feeling you created in Step #2 when we talked about your "why". Use that starting point to expand the image of you as the "new you". Be sure in your image you are actually in the present, as the "new you". Really feel what is means to you and those around you. Be that "new you" with intense emotion attached .
      • Name it. Feel free to give that experience a name to help your brain chunk it down to a more manageable size. Something all you were feeling and experiencing can be linked to in a quicker, easier way. The name could be associated with a feeling like bliss, success, freedom or use any word that represents that state to you like ahhh, at last, even rose or frog. It doesn't matter as long as it's meaningful to you and can be used to trigger the entire experience of the new you by using that one word. A rose by any other name..., right?
      • Make it an Iconic Event. Now associate the experience with a single icon that will be used to bring the entire "new you" back into existence, fresh in your mind every time you see that one icon. Choose your icon well.  It should be something you can personally draw so that it can easily be placed on your book cover if your mantra is related to study, perhaps on the bathroom mirror if related to self-image, on the refrigerator if food related, or anywhere useful. No one else needs to know the meaning of the symbol unless you choose to share. ;)  Remember that the critical thinking mind is more literal and reinforces new ideas best in words while (mantra) while the subconscious mind is more metaphorical and processes in pictures. Success is dramatically enhanced by allowing them to work together to make the desired change. Once your subconscious accepts it as real, it has become "you"!
      • Anchor it in your Physical Body. Take your mind back to the most vivid image you created of the new you. At the moment when it's most vivid and the feelings are at their most intense, anchor all that emotion to a single point on your body by touching that point with the intent to store the feeling there. Choose a point that doesn't get touched much normally so it will remain special for this purpose. Perhaps the space between your ring and little finger or a place on the back of your neck.
      • Reinforce the Anchor. Once touch is good, but to help insure success, reinforce the anchor.  This is accomplished by shifting your mind away from the intensity of the experience then immediately returning to it. At the point of greatest intensity, anchor it again to the same spot. Do this 3-4 times using the same exact spot. Test your anchor by returning to a normal state and touching the chosen spot. You should feel the intense feeling you anchored come rushing back. If for any reason you don't, re-create the anchor until is sticks..
      • Now Use it! Be in a receptive state of mind and then trigger your anchor when ever you need to recreate that feeling, especially when repeating your mantra. It will instantly bring you to that place in your mind of being that "new you".
      • Insider's Tip about Anchors - Anchoring can be a powerful tool and can be used to easily return to any desired state or feeling. Use the technique to anchor:
        • "I'm in the mood for love" so that you can go there instantly as needed.
        • "I'm ready to drop off to sleep now"
        • "I'm totally relaxed and ready for fun"
        • "I feel completely loved and appreciated"
        • Maybe the next time your kid hits that home run and needs to anchor that feeling of confidence.
        • The potentials are endless...
      Take Me to Step 6

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