subject: Simple and Effective Affirmations for Self-Esteem [print this page] If you want to become positive and self-reliant, and alleviate depression problems, doing self-esteem affirmations are great tools to use. Positive affirmations can help you change old thinking patterns, and can help you reshape internal dialogue to bolster your self-esteem. Why don't more people use this to build their self-esteem, then? Because most people don't know how helpful positive affirmations can be; however, they can really help you get lasting results. In addition, if you have depression problems, you can use affirmations, along with other therapies as necessary, to build self-esteem and alleviate depression.
There are principles you can follow so that you can construct positive affirmations. These are both simple and effective. Following are some steps you can take that will help you devise a strategy so that you can create and use your own affirmations to bolster your self-esteem and help with depression problems.
Step One: What are your standards going to be?
What are your standards going to be as you build self-esteem and work on your depression? You'll need to decide this before you actually start writing them. For example, think of someone who's not depressed and who has high self-esteem. What do they look like to you in your mind's eye? Define those standards based upon this person as you see him or her, and then decide what you're going to do with your affirmations to become confident and self-assured, like that person. It's helpful, for example, to know what confidence and happiness looks like; if you've got a picture in your head in regard to what that looks like, it's a lot easier to do. Affirmations can help you improve your self-esteem and alleviate your depression by working with your subconscious mind directly. Your subconscious mind responds directly to affirmations, so you need them to be as specific as possible. They'll need to be based upon "definite actions," which represent good self-esteem to you. For example, maybe good self-esteem means that you have the courage to interact with others comfortably in social situations, negotiate when you need to, and so on. Figure out what means "confidence" and "happiness" to you, and then come up with actions that support this.
Step Two: What's your formula going to be?
Affirmations need to contain four things: They need to be based in present tense; they need to be positively rather than negatively stated; they need to be in the first person; and they need to be based on action. So, for example, you might say:
"I'm the master of my business negotiations."
"I easily approach strangers and engage them in casual conversation."
"I easily close sales."
"I have discipline and focus when I do my exercise program."
All of these things have the following things in common:
They all happen in the present
They're all stated in first person
They're all based on a specific action
They're all affirmatively rather than negatively stated
Once you've written your affirmations based upon this to bolster self-esteem and help alleviate your depression, the next step is to
Step Three: Rehearse your affirmations
In order for your mind to fully "believe in" your affirmations so that you can work on depression problems and bolster your self-esteem, you'll need to do them on a regular basis. For example, you could do them in the morning and then in the evening, both times out loud. It's important to do it this way, because you're training your mind to think differently. You have to do it consistently, or it's not going to work. It's like exercising; you have to do it consistently in order to see results. So say your affirmations everyday, twice a day. If you get bored with them, you can always write new ones. Do this every day for life, and you'll see that your depression problems will begin to heal themselves, as your self-esteem also improves.
