What's the Idea, Here?
The basic idea behind reading positive self-affirmations aloud is fairly straight forward: through repetition, and by both noticing more conviction in how you say the words, and how you feel when hearing the words being said ("Do they feel true to me when I hear myself say them?"), you’ll slowly, but consistently, be able to say them and hear them with greater overall conviction that they’re true statements, the more times you repeat the process of saying them out loud, to yourself.
Is it Based on "Sound" Science?
>>Short Answer:
"Um, ...well, nah."
>>Long Answer:
This method is based on the somewhat unproven hypothesis that audibly reciting positive affirmations to oneself is not only a more effective way of bringing about the type of positive changes that we desire, as compared to simply reading the same affirmations silently to oneself, but also the best option when compared to most, or perhaps even all, of the alternative ways to go about trying to create that type of positive transformation, including things like hypnosis, self-hypnosis, clinical psychiatry, nature-walking, and meditation.
While there are thousands of individual accounts of people who agree with my conclusion that this method is the most effective and powerful means to achieve such a goal, some of which have written books on specifically this topic, including a few clinical hypnotists and psychiatrists, as far as I’m aware, it hasn’t really ever been proven through sound, scientific research.
It appears to me that we only have anecdotal accounts of people having success with this method, which may be an immediate turn-off for some individuals, and I completely respect that. But I’m of the mind that every approach that so much as HINTS at promise, and doesn’t pose glaring risks to one’s mental health by being practiced, should absolutely be considered when it comes to matters of trying to become a better person and/or living a better quality of life.
Moreover, I’ve experimented with this technique myself, after trying all but one of the aforementioned “alternatives” (I’ve never received any type of professional guidance by a qualified psychiatrist, aside from reading a few books by practicing clinicians that offer self-help, if that even counts), and, as I previously alluded, I’ve concluded that it reigns supreme among all those other options, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it had the most profound and positive effects on me, between the different approaches that I’ve personally experimented with.
The Effects Were Utterly PROFOUND!
It was, BY FAR, the MOST effective method that I’ve personally tried, for turning my negativity around and transforming it into something much more positive and health-promoting.
And I say this as a man who’s been through some really low lows in his life, battling severe social-anxiety and low-grade depression for years on end. There’s a good chance that I’m more autistic than your average person (but I feel that it’s necessary to point out that I easily qualify as “functioning”), which likely contributed to those past struggles, if not being the sole reason for them.
Regardless, I’m in a much better, FAR more positive, and productive place than I’ve been, for as far back as I can recall, going all the way back through my middle school years and even back into elementary school!
The Lemon was Worth the Squeeze!
I’m convinced that I owe all those positive changes to taking the time, and making the effort, to audibly read… and audibly re-read… and audibly re-re-read, a set of positive affirmations that I typed out on a Microsoft word document and saved on my computer.
But I didn't stop there. No digital dust would have a chance to collect on that computer file!
I proceeded to ware my computer-mouse thin from over-clicking on that document, as I started out by first painfully forcing myself to read it, but, slowly, over the course of the next few weeks, and months, came to start enjoying the process of reciting (surprisingly finding it to be satisfyingly therapeutic)! Then, one day, as if magically, suddenly starting to really believe what I was saying to myself, as I read those affirmations out loud!
Sure, it may have taken something along the lines of repeating them a thousand times, but it eventually happened, nonetheless. And it felt like only that much bigger of an accomplishment for sticking with the process for that long without giving up on it.
Was it the time that I put into it, and all the doubts that I had about it ever having a chance of working, along the way?
Ab-so-frickin-lutlely! It was worth every second of it, and a MILLION times more!
It "Went Down" Better than Crème de la Crème!
At the very same moment that I noticed myself reciting the positive affirmations in the calmest and most confident sounding voice that I ever recall being expressed through my vocal cords, I believed their message! I not only sounded confident in saying them, but I FELT confident, when hearing myself recite them, that I AM, without a doubt, the person being described by those affirmations!
Man, what a wonderful feeling that is!
And I’m absolutely CERTAIN that those two things happening at the same instance was no coincidence. Which is why I'm so convinced that reading positive affirmations out loud is the Crème de la Crème of self-help techniques out there!
I realize that I'm punishing the exclamation key, but it's for a very good reason!!!
Sorry, not sorry, my own experience of success with this method trumps the lack of "real science", regarding it's validity as an effective treatment to overcoming chronic, negative emotional/ psychological states, and, furthermore, replacing them with a new, improved, much healthier mindset.
Don't mistake me as a "professional" at treating such conditions, but also don't mistake that "short-coming" on my part as indicating that I can't provide you real, tangible value by sharing my specific method of achieving success for myself.
I'm convinced that here IS real value to be had, here.
Where's the Cheese?
To be honest with you, I feel obligated at this point to try my best to put this technique “out there”, to make more people aware of it as legit option to improve mental health, and to encourage positive, spiritual growth, as I strongly believe that it offers significant benefits on both accounts.
Furthermore, I feel a strong urge to offer up my own solutions to specific types of problems that individuals will sometimes encounter - in the form of positive affirmations that I’ve created, which I intend to put out in future posts.
My intention is to offer others a metaphorical “rope”, that they can use to pull themselves out from their unique form of “funk”, into something healthier, and more satisfying, for themselves to experience. Getting them “out of the pit”, and into something healthier and more desirable, will naturally “reverberate” out from them (metaphorically speaking), creating more health and positivity for the people, and the environment, around them.
The motivation?
Nothing more than was already shared.
It’s all about creating “self-feeding loops” of health and positivity, because we ALL benefit from that... and I don’t care if that comes across as too woo-woo for your liking.
…so, deal with it :p
Healthy Adventures...
Take care :)