Do Affirmations Work…? Proof That They Do…

Occasionally, I come across someone who asks the question "do affirmations really work?"
For me, there is no question that affirmations work very well and are quite effective, and for good reason, too… all because of an experiment that I did when I was very young that I think you‘ll appreciate very much.

When I was a child, long before Louise Hay ever published her first book on affirmations, I once heard someone say "anything you tell yourself long enough, you will eventually come to believe is true" and it just stayed with me, coming to mind from time to time afterward.  Of course, being a child, I had no idea if this were true, or if it was just someone’s imagining of how things worked but then didn't really work the way they thought when it came to real life.

Whenever the saying would come to mind, I would wonder about it, whether it was true or not, but it was just one of those things to ponder for a time and then set aside again, not having any way to know whether it was true or not… but I thought to myself, “someday I’ll think of something that I want to believe is true, and when I do, that'll be my opportunity to do an experiment and see what happens”.

It was a couple of years later, while driving home with my family after visiting my grandparents, we approached an area where a skunk had been hit and the air was filled with the noxious, foul odor. Not only did it smell terrible to me, but I watched as everyone else in the car overreacted, everyone remarking loudly, rolling up their windows, and commenting every way they could about just how bad the smell was.

As I observed everyone’s reactions all around me, it just seemed odd that something as simple as a smell could trigger such strong and long lasting reactions from everyone who had smelled it, and the thought occurred to me that I didn't really want to be triggered to react so strongly like this as I grew older.  So, I began to ponder, “what can I do so I won’t be triggered to react so strongly and so negatively when I smell the spray of a skunk anytime in the future?”. 

Suddenly, the saying I'd heard years before came to mind, "anything you tell yourself long enough, you will eventually come to believe is true".

Finally, I had my opportunity to test it out and to find out if, indeed, it was true or not for myself.  But what phrase could I tell myself exactly, and repeat over and over again until I believed it, I wondered?

As we drove along, I thought about the possibilities.  It took a few minutes, but suddenly the cartoon character of the love struck skunk, Pepe Le Pew, came to mind. Whenever he would smell the scent of the female skunk he was pursuing, Pepe always used to say in his lovely French accent "Ahhh, perfume..." even as others would react and would be running away in response instead. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an excellent opportunity, the perfect test, and I’d finally be able to find out if the saying I'd heard so long ago and was so curious about was actually true or not. 

But just how long would I have to do this, I wondered?

As I thought about it, I resolved that it was an experiment, and I would keep the experiment going for as long as it took for it to either be proven to be true, or until it was obvious that it had just been someone’s imagination… or, until I determined that the timeframe it was taking was just impractical for the method to be a viable way of affecting the mind.  It certainly sounded like a very practical experiment to me.

So, I began affirming the word "perfume" whenever I had the opportunity and remembered to. When
we would go to visit my grandparents on the weekends I would remember to say "perfume" to myself on the way there and back as we approached the area we first came across the skunk on that day; when I'd see a cartoon with Pepe Le Pew in it on TV, I'd say "Ahhh, perfume..." right along with him; and on other occasions when for some reason the image of a skunk would come to mind.

It was a few months later, towards the end of the summer, before I was in a situation where I came across an area where a skunk had actually sprayed again.  However, on this occasion, my response was quite different.  While everyone else in the car was making remarks about how bad it smelled and rolling up their windows, I was surprised to find the odor didn't affect me that way at all. I was curious why everyone was reacting so dramatically, when, for me, the air actually smelled sweet. To me, the smell had a certain sweetness… and then it suddenly dawned on me that it smelled like... you guessed it… perfume...!!! 

I had not had any preconceived ideas of what would happen when I began doing my affirmation, and really didn’t know what was going to happen, if anything. But  by repeating that affirmation to myself over time I had not only changed my belief, but it actually changed what the odor actually smelled like to me, and altered my perception of the odor from one that was foul and entirely disagreeable to one that was actually quite enjoyable.

This was my first experience with using an affirmation. I had repeated it consistently, with a sense of openness and curiosity, and I persisted in repeating it long enough for it to take root and to replace the prior thought that I had desired for it to replace.

This experiment gave me the firsthand knowledge I had been seeking to determine that affirmations do work, and they work very well when done properly.  

Since then I’ve learned so much more about affirmations, why they work for some and not for others, how to create well-formed affirmations, how to troubleshoot why affirmations may not be working for someone, and so on...

Affirmations do work, and they work for everyone, when they’re done properly. 

Affirmations are only one way to communicate with the subconscious, and to affect desired changes consciously.  They are a great place to start, but if you’re not familiar with them, either get a good book about the subject, or find a coach to work with. It’ll ensure you get the best results you can get, and get them in the fastest available time.