The Impact of Positive Affirmations on Motivation
Ever heard of the phrase "Fake it til you make it"? It usually means that if you act like you are confident in your abilities, even if you don’t feel like it, but really believe in your own skills, then eventually your confidence will catch up with your actions.
The same is true for positive affirmations: If we continually remind ourselves of how capable we are and how much confidence we have in our abilities, then eventually those positive thoughts become a reality.
The following article highlights studies on the impact of affirmations on our motivation and achievement levels. Hopefully this will encourage us all to be more cognizant of the power behind what we project to ourselves and to others.
Positive affirmations can positively affect motivation, performance, and even physical changes in the brain.
I see it all the time: people who speak negatively about themselves and their potential. They tell stories of how they are terrible at things, how they "never get it right," or how they "are just not good at this kind of stuff." These people are so hard on themselves that even if someone tells them something positive about what they did or learned that day, they will immediately shoot it down by saying that everyone else gets this concept easily (even though it wasn't actually an easy task for anyone) or that others actually do much better than them.
It’s just unbelievable. Then, they wonder why they get so little motivation or are always so insecure and don’t perform as well as they should in school or at work.
The bottom line is that people who talk about themselves negatively will feel negative emotions, which in turn will make it difficult for them to be motivated to achieve their goals.
Positive affirmations can relieve negative emotions and increase motivation. Positive affirmations are nothing more than simple positive statements about yourself that you say over and over again until your mind begins to believe them. Positive thoughts are more likely to result in positive actions.
Positive affirmations can also make you physically fit. The physical effects of positive thoughts on physical health were first reported by Dr. Norman Shealy, founder of the American Institute for Stress, and are known as the Shealy law or Shealy’s law of health. This law is so well-known that Shealy has a picture of himself standing above the law with his hand raised (see photo to the left.)
Shealy discovered and wrote about this law over 20 years ago and has been using it successfully in his own practice ever since. This law is actually based on the fact that positive emotions, such as happiness and joy, will release endorphins into the brain and body.
Endorphins are chemicals in the brain and body that are responsible for "feel good" feelings when they enter the bloodstream. One well-known endorphin is called beta-endorphin. This chemical makes you feel calm and relaxed, thus relieving stress.
Dr. Shealy discovered this effect when he had a patient who was suffering from a very strange illness that later turned out to be a mood disorder – but at that time no one knew what it was.
The patient had very low blood pressure and was extremely dizzy. He also had very low levels of beta-endorphin in his blood. Dr. Shealy treated this patient with positive affirmations that over time increased the beta-endorphin levels in the patient’s body, thus relieving his symptoms.
Dr. Shealy has also discovered that positive affirmations help relieve pain in people suffering from chronic conditions, including headaches, arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. In fact, he has been able to reduce his own pain simply by repeating positive affirmations about reducing pain via a tape recorder while he went to sleep at night.
Dr.
Conclusion
As you can see, positive affirmations are a great way to improve your self-esteem, motivation levels, and physical well being. It’s easy to get negative about ourselves. We compare ourselves to others and assume we are doing worse than we actually are. The next time you catch yourself saying something negative about yourself, stop and think about what a powerful tool positive affirmations can be for improving the quality of your life.
Positive Affirmations: The Impact of Positive Affirmations on Motivation
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