Unconscious
Plant Mind Seeds to Reprogram Negative Habits
Your subconscious can help you overcome harmful lifestyle habits.
Posted September 1, 2022 Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
Key points
- Affirmations plant seeds that help to "reprogram" your mind.
- Affirmations shift attention away from habitual ways of thinking and acting.
- Affirmations prepare you for growing new and supportive behaviors.
Although we may not be aware of it, every day we mentally seed our brains with thoughts of success or failure. Which do you do? Despite the daily chaos of life, why do some people believe in themselves and have the confidence to follow through while others are left at the starting line?
Do toxic lifestyle habits follow you around like the proverbial "dark cloud"? I've worked with clients who struggled with binge eating, compulsive Internet pornography use, gambling issues, and more. In each case, I've used mindfulness-oriented practices that re-wire the brain, such as simple affirmations that affirm the positive.
When you train your brain in this way (athletes now routinely use affirmations), you'll be surprised at what you can do.
But before we get into how to best use affirmations, there's some interesting research I'd like to share with you. A study in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience showed that self-affirmation activated brain networks related to one's sense of identity, as well as being future-oriented. Other studies have shown how negative or positive thinking affects the immune system.
Self-affirmations can be viewed as mental seeds that grow a new self-narrative about your self-worth, values, and competence. Affirmations broaden our perspectives; they let us create a scenario of self-efficacy and agency. In other words, they open our view to new ways of seeing things, which is very much part of the mindfulness mindset.
Using Affirmations for Positive Change
Affirmations provide us with a means of blocking negativity while giving us a new and more positive mental soundtrack. Affirmations hold the potential to transform both our emotional and immune responses. I remember a time in my 30s when I was going through a tough time, and so I taped affirmations up on the walls of my apartment for a few days. However, when a friend dropped by unannounced and saw my affirmations, I felt embarrassment—but not for long. My friend was so moved by what I had written that he decided to try an affirmation practice out for himself.
As you think about using conscious affirmations, it’s important to feel any resistance you may have to them. Bringing any resistance into the light will help defuse it. In the book Scientific Healing Affirmations, spiritual teacher Paramahansa Yogananda wrote:
If you affirm “I am well,” but think in the background of your mind that it is not true, the effect is the same as if you took a helpful medicine and at the same time swallowed a drug that counteracted the effects of that medicine.
Positive Affirmations for Reprogramming Your Mind and Life
Below are a few affirmations that you can try. Say these to yourself or write them on sticky notes that you can place around your home or space. You can also think of these like mantras—sacred phrases that are repeated over and over. Others are simply ways of reminding ourselves of what we desire and how we want to be in the world.
1. Affirmations of Personal Strength and Qualities
- I am safe.
- I am intelligent.
- I am caring.
- I am calm.
- I am patient.
- I am a person of love and beauty.
- I am open and accepting.
- I am flexible and spontaneous.
- I am adventurous.
- I am peaceful.
- I am positive.
- I am inspiring, energizing, and activating.
- I am _________.
- I am _________.
2. Affirmations for Centering, Calm, and Acceptance
- Don’t sweat the small stuff.
- Don’t take it personally.
- Not too fast, not too slow, get in the flow.
- Everything will get done.
- All you need is love. (Song titles make for good affirmations.)
- Give peace a chance.
- It is what it is.
- Just be me.
- I deserve the time and space to heal.
- Good enough is good enough.
Which of the affirmations above resonate with you?
There’s no right or wrong way to use these. You could write down your favorite on an index card and keep it with you. Or, you might write favorites and store them on your phone for reference throughout the day. Say them for a few seconds throughout your day as an inner compass to direct your attention and life's purpose.
These affirmations just scratch the surface. The book Clearing Emotional Clutter explores additional ways of using affirmations and other methods for transforming negative behaviors, as well as spiritual affirmations from various traditions,
Plant the seeds for your happiness to prosperity starting today. And feel free to adapt any of the affirmations above so that it feels more right for you.
As with any mindfulness practice, use them often to create a new mental habit. Notice how your thinking—and behavior—responds as you keep your affirmation firmly in mind.
