We decide we want something consciously, we tell ourselves we want this particular thing to happen, so what is keeping it from happening? Shouldn't we simply be able to tell our brains to make it happen? Why can't we use affirmations or suggestions to stop eating the wrong foods, or to stop drinking alcohol, or quit smoking? Why is it so hard?
For many years I used the affirmation 'I am healthy, I am alive, I am grateful’ but felt some doubt around the part of the affirmation ‘I am healthy.’ This feeling of doubt is what signaled there was conflict with my subconscious beliefs. This was scary for me. It is disconcerting to explore these thoughts or feelings, a bit like exploring a dark cave, and we tend to believe that if we do not give them any attention they will disappear. This is not true, these thoughts and beliefs are in our subconscious mind whether or not we put any attention on them, and when we are not conscious of them they guide our actions without our conscious awareness. The truth is that we are fortunate when these thoughts or beliefs surface because it is only by becoming aware of our subconscious beliefs that we can make changes to our actions and behavior.
Digging into the matter I realized there was a part of me that was afraid I was not healthy. This made me curious to find out just what my subconscious mind was thinking about all of this. Through some internal dialogue I found that because I constantly worry and fret over improving my eating and flexibility, my subconscious mind was interpreting this as being unhealthy. That was the tip of the iceberg, I found many other concerns creating the subconscious belief that I am not healthy, including the desire to be as energetic as I was at twenty years of age. But, I am sixty-five and not that energetic now. In all these ways, and for decades, my worrying about these things had created the belief in my subconscious mind that I am not healthy. Slap to the forehead, that is not what I intended!
Once I got over myself about being a chronic worrier and sending the wrong programming to my subconscious mind, I looked for an affirmation that would correct the programming that I myself created. While I am not perfectly healthy, I am healthy, and I am improving all the time. I had to change my mantra to ‘I am getting healthier every day’. That fits! And now I can repeat this mantra to get the results I really want.
We must communicate with our subconscious mind and get to know what it believes in order to create suggestions that will work for our beliefs. The difference between ‘I am healthy’, and ‘I am getting healthier every day’ is subtle but makes all the difference in the world.
Hello David,
Thanks again for probing inside and prodding us. The affirmation that works for me is that I'm getting emotionally healthier each day. At 67, I can't convince myself that I'm physically healthier each day; even though I have good physical health.
You are on the uprise. Congrats.