Positive affirmations are a series of positive statements that you repeat to yourself either by saying them out loud, thinking them or listening to other people saying them. The purpose of these positive statements is to help you achieve a higher degree of self control, by programming your sub-consciousness with positive content so your thoughts automatically become more positive. Our actions - what we do and the way we do it - is derived from our thoughts. When positive thinking has become automatic, you will be more likely to act in accordance to your positive thoughts and thus little by little you become what the affirmations you are implanting.

These positive statements or affirmations can, for example consist of instructions to yourself to act a certain way. Let's say you have noticed that it is difficult for you to handle certain situations, like speaking in public for instance, but you would like to do that very much. Positive statements or affirmations can help you overcome the barrier that stands between the current 'you' and the person you really want to be, like in this example, a good speaker.

Positive statements or affirmations have been applied successfully to lots of different self improvement purposes such as

• getting rid of mental diseases like anxiety, phobias, panic attacks
• overcoming low self-esteem
• handling fear of performance and improving performance in many different areas like sports, music, writing and more
• enabling people to achieve certain goals by strengthening their self controlling abilities and will power
• winning a sport, game or another competition
• passing examinations with good results
• sustainable and healthy weight loss
• changing dysfunctional behaviours and attitudes
• curing certain kinds of physical diseases
• building better relationships
• learning new skills
• improving memory

plus much more. Affirmation is an easy and simple method of changing your thinking pattern and thus making your life better and happier. The more consistent you are using affirmations, and the more you repeat them, the sooner the wished change will come and the more solid it will be.

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website 1st-Self_Improvement.net. Terje is a Sociologist who enjoys contributing to the personal growth and happiness of others. He tries to accomplish this by writing about self help issues from his own experience and knowledge. For example, affirmations and other self improvement techniques as well as building good relationships.