How to write an affirmation
An affirmation is a short line about what you want, said as if it is already true. The method comes from Chapter 4 of The Kybalion Unlocked.
Start with your goal
Write what you want in specific detail. Not "lose weight", but "achieve optimal health weighing 155 pounds". A clear goal gives your affirmations something definite to point at.
In the desktop app, every deck starts with a goal written to three questions: What is your actual goal? How will it change your life when you achieve it? What emotion will you feel?
Know why it matters
Write down your benefits: why this matters to you emotionally. The book puts it plainly: compelling reasons drive action, and without them, goals remain wishes. For example: "I will be healthier, with more mental clarity."
Benefits can be in any tense. Make each one personal and positive.
Write it in the three P's
- Personal. Start with "I". It is about you.
- Positive. Say what you want, not what you don't. No "I will not".
- Present. Say it as true now: "I am", not "I will be".
"I am now maintaining my ideal weight of 155 pounds."
The book's example, page 91.
Keep it short
Short enough to read at a glance, and to say in one breath: one idea, about four to ten words. Like "I speak with calm clarity."
Fixing a weak line
| The mistake | Instead of | Try |
|---|---|---|
| Naming what you don't want | I am not anxious. | I feel calm in my body. |
| Talking about the future | I want to sleep well. | I settle easily into sleep. |
| A step on the way | I am learning to trust myself. | I trust my own judgement. |
| Too vague | I am happy and successful in all areas of my life. | I finish each day proud of one thing. |
| Too long | I am a confident, calm and capable person who handles every challenge life gives me. | I handle what comes, calmly. |
| About someone else | My kids listen to me. | I speak to my kids with patience. |
| Overstated | I can do anything. | I meet today's work with focus. |
Commit to it
The book asks you to date and sign your goal, like a contract. Then stay with it: in one study, a new daily habit took a median of 66 days to become automatic. HermeticMind counts the days for you.
Put it in a deck
In the desktop app, choose New deck. Give it a name and a goal, then write up to 12 affirmations, each a different way of saying the same belief, and up to four benefits.
From The Kybalion Unlocked by Ken McHardie, Chapter 4, page 91. Lally and colleagues (2010).