by Larry Hartstein —
What a happy discovery, that singing our affirmations turbo-charges them and helps us embrace them at a deep emotional level, while silencing the inner critic that limits our growth.
Modern science and philosophy now show that our thoughts and our frame of mind are the most important components of our successes. Our deeply held beliefs are the filters that determine how fully we experience life.
If we focus on the negative, we will see only the negative. If we focus on the positive, our positivism will seek out and find supportive, productive results.
Often a person lives and reacts to life based on his or her childhood decisions. Once a child makes a decision about life, chances are he will focus only on the elements in life that reinforce that decision. For instance, most professional athletes tell us, “I’ve always been good at sports.” Most couch potatoes tell us, “I was never any good at sports.” These self-fulfilling prophecies begin in our childhood. They’re not true thoughts — they’re just thoughts we choose to regard as true.
What if we could simply change our thinking? How would our lives reflect our “new” attitudes? Could it really be as simple as thought management? It is definitely worth a shot.
One time-honored method for managing one’s thoughts is to utilize the mind-training technique of affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements phrased in the present tense which declare specific, desired outcomes. When these statements are internalized and repeated often enough, a critical mass of new thoughts is generated. These new thoughts eventually become our predominant thoughts, literally replacing old negative notions with positive new ones.
In essence, by selecting and programming the mind to focus on thoughts that serve us consciously, subconsciously and systematically, each of us can create a new personal belief system.
Affirmations have been used as a means of redirecting our thoughts for millennia. Many ancient and traditional prayers contain affirmations, such as: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want …” or “I will fear no evil.”
They form the foundations of hugely successful self-help methods such as those set forth in Think and Grow Rich and The Power of Positive Thinking. Emile Coué, the French founder of one of the early 20th century’s most prominent schools of psychotherapy, penned what is perhaps the world’s most famous affirmation: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.”
When reciting positive affirmations, two hurdles may block their positive effects:
• Boredom — To be most effective, affirmations require a great deal of repetition. And repeating a phrase — even if it is a positive and desired outcome — becomes boring after a while. Any person bored with an activity loses interest in it. Any person who loses interest is not deeply experiencing the message of the affirmation and often quits the exercise altogether.
• Self-criticism — When people make statements about their circumstances that are not yet reflected by reality, an inner critic often pops up to argue with the statement. That critic, in effect, sabotages the whole process. Rather than creating a new belief that can lead to a new reality, precious energy is drained away by the inner argument between what a person is stating and what they believe to be true.
A great solution that takes the effectiveness of positive affirmations to a whole new level combines the power of positive affirmations with the emotional magic of music to create short, easily learned songs that effortlessly generate a positive feeling around the message.
Music has the power to emotionalize a message and hold that emotion virtually forever. A favorite song from high school can make an 80-year-old feel like a kid again. One other important factor is that music has the added benefit of stopping our inner critic from sabotaging us. It is impossible to think and sing at the same time.
What a happy discovery, that singing our affirmations turbo-charges them and helps us embrace them at a deep emotional level, while silencing the inner critic that limits our growth.
Try it for yourself. It is easy. Start by setting your affirmations to familiar tunes.
The following is an affirmation you can use to avoid road rage; sing this to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”
“I am happy to be driving,
I love this traffic jam!
I am happy to be driving,
‘Cause that’s the way I am!”
After a bit of practice, you can begin writing your own ditties to express your personal affirmations: “I’m so wealthy,” “I love what I look like,” “All my prayers are answered,” and “I’ve got more money than I can spend,” to name a few.
Larry Hartstein has been a writer, composer, lyricist, producer and director for 25 years. “AttiTunes” is an expression of Larry’s keen understanding of creative tools and technologies that help people gently, easily and happily discover their personal power. 877-229-1800 or www.attitunes.com.
Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 3, June/July 2005.
January 8, 2014
Creativity, Emotional Wellness and Well-being, Goals, Self-improvement