At the start of this year, I started manifesting a raise. A week later, the promotion that should have taken months happened overnight. Less than a month later, I had my pay bumped 30%. Now, I’m not saying affirmations single-handedly landed me that raise, but it sure showed me affirmations work.

But how?

And how did I go from a sceptic, thinking “Affirmations are for those too lazy to do something themselves!” to believing in a legit connection with the Universe?

Honestly, I can’t tell you, but something just changed one day – and it’s improved my life incredibly.

How Do Affirmations Work?

Based on my personal experience, education (psychology major in da house!) and some research (this lovely podcast certainly helped), I believe affirmations work by giving you the confidence you need to try hard and take risks to get to where you want to be. So don’t be fooled: affirmations can help you – a lot – but only if you put in the necessary work, too.

How Do Affirmations Affect the Brain?

Neuroscientists and psychologists were always interested in understanding how much power dour thoughts actually hold over us. So they decided to test it out. They set volunteers in MRI machines and started giving them orders. “Imagine you’re running”, “imagine you’re riding a bike”, “imagine you’re swimming”. And then the theory became reality, as neuroscientists started recording the brain’s activity. When they were told to imagine a certain activity, the part of brain which lights up when actually performing that activity – lit up! Not as strongly as during the actual activity, but enough for them to understand that, by thinking about something, we’re giving signals to the brain we’re actually doing it. (After all, you can’t say you’ve never gotten all tingly just by thinking about some sexy time, right?)

Affirmations work the same way. While affirmations for money won’t magically have you win the lottery, they’ll make you feel as if you’re already on a good way to get-that-bread! And if you have the confidence and self-love, then asking for a raise and working hard to deserve one is a no-brainer.

That’s exactly what happened to me. I was listening to the amazing podcast from above, learning about manifesting and affirmations, and downloaded the simplest app out there to work as a reminder + vision board. At the same time, I started feeling much more confident in my skills, taking risks, and asking for what I deserve until I got it.

Check out Mind Secrets Exposed 2.0 to discover the secret of success.

How Affirmations Work for Different People

Confidence is just one side of the coin. The other is the neural pathways. The best explanation I’ve heard of those is: imagine you’re walking through high, thick snow. The first time you do it, it’s darn hard. But each time it gets easier, since you’ve managed to create a brand new, clear path through it.

It’s the same with affirmations. The more you repeat to yourself that you’re deserving, that you’re hard-working, that you’re talented, the more you’re willing to believe it. However, always keep in mind that believing it isn’t enough. You won’t get pregnant if you don’t have sex, no matter how good your affirmations for pregnancy are. It’s the same when it comes to attracting a great partner or getting a raise. You need to put in the work, and together with a positive mindset, you’ll be set for success.

If you’re a pen-and-paper type of person, the Dailygreatness planners are the most beautiful thing you’ll see today, and they’ll certainly help your affirmations become reality.

Currently, I find affirmations are helping me a lot when it comes to pregnancy anxiety – and here are a few to use.

How to Write Affirmations

In order to improve your chances of reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself, follow these general rules:

• Choose something achievable. Rather than trying to manifest one million dollars, start by simply manifesting more money, or enough money to live comfortably.
• Keep to what you can control. “I’ll become CFO of this company next month” is a huge bite, and if it doesn’t happen, it can cause your confidence to plummet. Instead, try affirming “I deserve to get promoted.” Like I said before, it all starts with confidence.
• Feel it, don’t repeat it robotically. Meditate on these affirmations. Practice intention. Only if you can really connect to what you’re saying, it can work.

Jelena

A 27-year-old married mom-to-be, trying to have it all. I have a full-time job I enjoy, a home I’m in love with, and plenty of hobbies I try my best to have the time for. A psychologist by vocation, with the goal of helping young women live their best lives.