This post is from staff writer Sierra Black. Sierra writes about frugality, sustainable living, and getting her kids to eat kale at Childwild.com.
This morning, I did something unusual. After I brushed my teeth, I looked in the mirror and recited:
- “People love to give me money!”
- “I am rich and wonderful.”
- “I am now earning a great big income doing what satisfies me.”
I admit, I felt silly. I love a lot of New Age spiritual practices. (I’ve written before about using a money spell.) But talking to myself in the mirror was a little weird — even to me — never mind how silly I felt repeating these affirmations about my finances.
But can doing something as simple (and silly) as repeating daily affirmations make you richer? Chellie Campbell thinks so. Campbell is the author of The Wealthy Spirit, a book of daily affirmations on money. I spoke with her this week about the link between money and spirituality.
The Emperor’s New Clothes?
Campbell recommends doing these affirmations every day. In fact, she has a list of 50 that she uses daily herself. She told me a story of how her publisher initially wanted to strike them from the book, and Campbell dared her to try them out. A month later, the publisher was an affirmation convert and the book stayed as it was. Campbell believes that affirmations not only make you feel better about yourself, but also will make you richer.
“The positive affirmations really help you. They juice up your energy,” Campbell says.
How is that supposed to work, exactly? Well, for starters, we all want to be around people who feel good about themselves. Our managers, clients and friends all feel the same way. So when opportunities arise, they tend to go to those with sunnier dispositions. This is why happier people make more money and have more successful careers, according to Gretchen Rubin in The Happiness Project [J.D.'s review]. If doing a morning affirmation reminds you to let a little more sunshine into your smile, it really might help you roll in more dough.
Campbell also sees daily affirmations as a way to set intentions for your day. To her, the affirmations are a part of getting dressed and ready to face the world. “You’re dressing your energy,” she says. “After the outer is dressed, I want to dress the inner.”
You can’t stop at affirmations, though. Campbell stresses that an affirmation is only the first step; it has to be followed up with actions. If you want good luck to befall you, you need to put yourself in the way of opportunities. That means networking, working hard at your job, and maintaining professional relationships. You also need to be willing to let some failures come and go, and not get bogged down thinking less of yourself because of them.
Continuing with her clothing metaphor, Campbell says, “Doing the affirmations is just like getting dressed for work. Then you have to go to work and do something to earn your paycheck.”
She says the changes should be apparent immediately, and describes the effect as “a little magical”. She shared stories of old debts being paid and money coming in from unexpected quarters. Whether you believe there’s a link between the money affirmations and good financial luck or not, you can rely on the reality of a positive attitude to bring you improved “luck” in the form of more energy for your work and better networking opportunities.
Getting Started with Affirmations
Want to try some affirmations of your own? Here are half a dozen from Campbell’s personal list that might be particularly well-suited to those of us aiming to ” get rich slowly“:
- “People love to give me money!”
- “I am now earning a great big income doing what satisfies me.”
- “All my bills are paid up in full and I still have all this money.”
- “My affirmations work for me, whether I believe they will or not.”
- “A lot more money is coming into my life. I deserve it and will use it for my good and others.”
- “I am a money magnet!”
If you want to try this, but prefer to write your own affirmations, Campbell says there are a two important rules to follow.
- For starters, you want to phrase affirmations in the present tense. Not, “I will pay all my bills” but “All my bills are paid” or “I pay all my bills”. It’s important to tell yourself you do these things now, not in some imagined and possibly distant future.
- You also want to be sure to put all your affirmations in positive language. Your mind can’t think about a “not something”. Negatives disappear when talking to our inner selves (or our children). My husband and I observe this in parenting all the time. We call it the “ruckus problem”. One day we were in a cafe watching a young mom with her son. The boy was playing quietly by himself until the mom said, “Remember what I told you: NO RUCKUS!” Hearing the word “ruckus”, the kid immediately began creating one. Now, when we need to be reminded to put things in a positive framework, we just look at each other and say, “ruckus!” Similarly, you may want to say, “All my bills are paid” as an affirmation, not “I am not in debt”.
Following those rules, I’ve made up a few affirmations I plan to use this month, including:
- “I am skilled and successful at my work.”
- “I spend within my means.”
- “I feel relaxed about my finances.”
Campbell more or less dared me to try a month of affirmations. It’s impossible to talk to her and not feel some of her enthusiasm for the practice catch on. So I plan to give it a shot and see how it goes.
Building a Habit
The trickiest part will be making the affirmations a habit. Anyone who’s ever tried to adopt a new habit or mindfulness practice knows how hard it can be. For me, the best way to add a practice or activity to my life is to use a “hook” from my existing routine. For example, I meditate mid-morning when my computer reminds me it’s time to take a typing break. Before I used the wrist break software, I found it hard to make time for meditation. Now, that time is built in to my day. For the affirmations, I’m using toothbrushing, and saying them in the mirror after I’ve brushed my teeth.
Campbell recommends printing your affirmations and attaching them to the wall near your computer, or putting a copy on the dashboard in your car. I can speak to the power of having written reminders of your intention. I tend to surround myself with inspirational quotes and verses from my favorite poems. Mine all focus on love, not money, but they’re powerful reminders to be more present and loving in my daily life. I may spend some time this month seeking out quotes on abundance as well.
If you’re interested in reading more of Campbell’s affirmations, she’s blogging a page a day from The Wealthy Spirit at her website. You can also learn more about her workshops and other books there.
More Than Words
I don’t believe for a moment that affirmations alone will make you wealthier. In fact, if all you do is affirm your good intentions, you’re doing yourself a dangerous disservice. The key is to couple an affirmation or intention with action. Without action, an affirmation is no more effective than a drunken New Year’s Resolution. Empty words won’t help you pay your bills.
Often, having some kind of ritual or affirmation to link your intention to strengthens your commitment to doing it. That’s where the magic happens. It doesn’t come from the words you say. It comes from what you do after you’ve said them. You can use affirmations like these, or any other mindful personal ritual, simply to charge up your intentions. Whether you’re looking for a job or struggling to live within your means, you need to constantly support yourself in the hard work of walking your talk. Ritualizing that support with a daily pep talk or inspirational practice can be a powerful tool for staying committed to your goals.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIETlxquzY
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I agree wholly that actions are the critical part.
There’s an interesting line of research that says that stating intentions can actually make you less likely to take the intended actions. Apparently when you talk about your goals and plans, you get a sense of accomplishment just from all the talking, and you may never follow through with action: http://www.psych.nyu.edu/gollwitzer/09_Gollwitzer_Sheeran_Seifert_Michalski_When_Intentions_.pdf
Affirmations may be fine, but they need to be the little something extra and not the main event. Telling yourself that you attract wealth won’t do any good, and may actually cause harm, unless you’re out there working, saving and building skills.
Sierra’s reply: I’m totally familiar with the problem of expending all your energy talking about something and then not doing it. It’s something I learned very early on with my writing: you can’t talk too much about the novel you’re working on or you’ll never finish it.
I think stating an intention can be different. A simple, clear statement helps me focus my energies and organize my actions.
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I’m not sure I totally believe in affirmations, but I’ve managed to incorporate them into my life in way that doesn’t make me feel silly and at least makes me breathe and smile periodically.
My passwords at work are affirmations – using the first letter of each word in a sentence method. So every day when I log on I get to remind myself that “I Am A Strong Capable Individual!” (iaasci!) or “I Will Perserver And Push Through Completion!” (iwpaptc!), etc. It’s cheesy and hokey, but it doesn’t do any harm and at least reminds me to counter the self-doubt.
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Sounds a lot like Stuart Smalley:
I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!
“Note: I know many of you are skeptics. In fact, J.D. may be the biggest skeptic of them all. He didn’t want to publish this post”
That would have been a good idea as the post was a waste of my time.
In the author talks about “empty words” yet the entire post is a bunch of B.S.
Get real.
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Also agree with Shalom #2. Yes, there can be harm in trying.
There’s a place for (and science of) cognitive restructuring, but cognitive restructuring would NOT say to say, “All my bills are paid” when that is not true. It would say something like, “I can pay my bills, I will pay my bills, (and this is how I am going to pay my bills).” It is important that the negative thinking be replaced with *realistic* thinking, not just generic positive thinking that has no basis in reality. There’s plenty of research on this topic. Textbooks even.
Since this is something for which there is actual empirical evidence on efficacy (Stuart Smalley was popular decades ago), it seems pretty silly not to report on the actual science, but instead to report potentially harmful meaningless garbage you can get anywhere on the internet.
I really like it when GRS examines things and gets the real story. That’s what really sets it apart from other sites and makes the archives worth their pixels in gold. One can generally feel like whatever is reported on GRS, and any mistakes etc. are going to be fixed as soon as they’re pointed out. I love the way April, JD, the motley fool guy, etc. do actual research, react to comments, and make corrections.
Sierra’s note: Nicole, I really appreciate your comment. I don’t think the science is as clear-cut as you make it out to be, though. There are plenty of cognitive scientists researching mindfulness practices and the power of meditation and similar practices to alter the chemistry of the human brain.
As I see it, Chellie Campbell’s affirmation practice may be a bit hokey, but it’s just another means to a mindful, meditative approach to personal finances. It was her blending of spirituality with money management that made me want to talk to her, because I find my own personal practice so powerful in keeping me focused on managing my finances.
It’s true that lying to yourself isn’t helpful. But affirming true positive things about yourself and your money can be, particularly if it’s part of a ritual that also includes positive actions.
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I worked in an elementary school. For an entire year I had lunchroom duty every single day. Have you ever spent even a single hour in a school lunchroom?
Three cheers for affirmations !!! Thanks to my daily recitation “I enjoy lunchroom duty. I have a really good time,” I DID enjoy the duty, I DID have a really good time – and so did the kids. Affirmations are great!!!
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Ever since I had an acquaintance who repeatedly said, “I have 2 million in the bank” (she didn’t), I have been an “affirmation skeptic.” She even packed up her house in anticipation of moving to a huge McMansion. I don’t know how long she walked around boxes until reality sank in.
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Thanks, my energy really could use some juicing up.
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I am enjoying the meta-tude of “My affirmations work for me, whether I believe they will or not.”
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unfortunately, there are many non-researchers/non-scientists on the Internet that continue to perpetuate this myth.
a quick google scholar of “self affirmations aware” will lead you to the relevant research articles.
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and doggone it, People Like Me!
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ellie #7–
I think having a good attitude, like you did about your lunchroom duty, is great. But I think these silly affirmations are something entirely different.
My sons thought I loved doing laundry because I always sang while doing it. It was really my most hated chore, but I sang songs to keep myself going.
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I agree w those that say this article is useless to me. (as most of sierra’s?)
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Great idea. I think I’ll quit my job so I can use affirmations to convince myself how rich I am.
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I am a big believer in affirmations and the law of attraction.
I have seen it work in every aspect of my life and my life has big changes happening now which will enable me to fulfill my goals.
I decided a little while ago to be a millionaire and focusing on that goal and doing what I can when I can has meant I will be able to achieve my goal.
If you think you can’t do something, you’ve already lost.
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I liked the article.
I think “affirmations” are silly, but it’s interesting to see how other people think. Especially when they are very different than myself.
BTW Nicole – you should really put some text when posting a link. For all I know that link could lead to a pic of Tyler in his CKs.
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This reminds me of The Secret, and I think it is a crock!
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Heh, this reminds me of the junk mail I just got yesterday. It was a letter with a ‘prayer mat’ (read: sheet of folded paper), telling me that I should pray to God for stuff like more money, or a new car (oh and send the church organization a donation, natch).
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There are linguists who refute the common notion that language evolved out of the need to communicate, since something like 99% of language activity in the brain is self-talk. According to them, language preceded speech. [Sorry I can't provide a reference, this I learned in conversation with a linguist]
With that in mind, and considering how we talk inside our heads all day, I think it’s perfectly fine to monitor your internal talk, pump yourself up, and encourage yourself to accomplish greater things even though they may seem difficult or impossible. Sometimes we internalize self-defeating patterns and negative messages that need uprooting. I’m all for changing that.
It’s another thing however to tell yourself utter BS you know it’s plain false. I mean, come on! That’s how crazy people operate, they believe their own lies– I once spoke to a guy who believed he shared some sort of transcendent connection to a woman in spite of the stack of restraining orders and jail time telling him otherwise. The curious part about this was that whenever he turned into reality-denial mode his eyelids would move very quickly, like those of a person who is in REM sleep. Creepy.
A little funny story to end this– when I was in kindergarten there was this kid who truly believed he could fly like Superman, and jumped off his parents’ dresser. He showed up in class the next morning with a big patch on his wounded forehead. I’m sure he believed with all his might. The rest of us already knew the difference between reality and cartoons.
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I’m willing to believe that affirmations can help some people if it helps improve their mental outlook or improve their self esteem etc. If you are the type of person who feels that you are a failure then continuing to consider yourself a failure will not lead to success. In that situation an affirmation that reinforces positive attitude might be useful. Instead of constantly telling yourself in your head that you’re a loser, start telling yourself in the mirror that you’re a capable person who’s able to achieve success. Its about attitude.
Of course on the other hand people can go to far and really misuse this kind of thing. Looking in the mirror and declaring yourself a success is not going to make money fall out of the sky.
Sometimes this amounts to nothing omre than a placebo, if you believe it works then it works (until it fails).
And this bit makes me super skeptical :
“Campbell stresses that an affirmation is only the first step; it has to be followed up with actions. If you want good luck to befall you, you need to put yourself in the way of opportunities. That means networking, working hard at your job, and maintaining professional relationships.”
I mean I could argue that scratching my butt will make me rich, but of course the butt scratching is just the first step and needs to be followed by networking, hard work and relationship building. Of course it would be hard to argue that butt scratching did anything but the networking and hard work bit would certainly have something to do with succeeding.
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Okay. I’ve finally put out most of the fires that were blazing around me, and I can turn my attention to this post.
As Sierra mentioned, I’m not a fan. I know there are some GRS readers who do like affirmations, and I’m not opposed to letting other people read this post and make up their own minds, but I, for one, think affirmations are a waste of time. And, in fact, I agree that they can be dangerous.
Now, I’ll be the first in line to sing the praises of positive thinking. Absolutely! I think the power of positive thinking is very real and very important. It’s played a large role in my success. But it’s not because these positive thoughts produced mystic vibrations or somehow altered the universe. Not at all. It’s because when I think positively — when I think of how something can be done instead of how it can’tbe — I’m far more successful.
But the key to positive thinking is acting on the thoughts. And if you’re going to argue that “hey, affirmations are great, but be sure you act on them”, then what’s the point of affirmations?
Like others above have commented, I don’t see in the point of repeating affirmations that are, essentially, lies. “People love to give me money!” Really? “I am rich and powerful!” How so? “All my bills are paid in full…” Is this true? If not, why repeat it to yourself?
I wrote last summer about the difference between Talkers and Doers. From my experience, affirmation-speakers are mostly Talkers. They talk about what they’re going to accomplish (they talk about it to themselves!), but they don’t actually do anything. But Doers are often positive thinkers. Does that make sense? People who go out and get stuff done are the people who believe they can, not because they repeat mantras to themselves, but because they’ve learned the art of positive self-talk.
In my review of The Secret, I called BS on the “magical thinking” approach (which is how I view affirmations), writing:
“Visualizing checks in the mail will not make them magically appear. When I say money is more about mind than it is about math, this is not what I mean. I’m talking about mental toughness, about self-discipline, about changing beliefs and thought patterns. I’m not talking about ‘manifesting’ checks in your mailbox.”
To summarize my advice in that review: There’s true power in positive thinking. Believing in yourself is a great way to to develop confidence. But affirmations are often just wishful thinking. And wishing accomplishes nothing. But back up your goals and your affirmations with action and hard work. Make your dreams come true — don’t just dream them.
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Meh, I read this site all the time and I find this to be the least helpful article to date. I do believe in being positive and confident enough (if I have done research) in my own skills to execute investment strategies. I don’t believe that “affirmations” is the thing that would push me over the edge, it’s simply trusting in my skills and not being too afraid of what might happen. If I do nothing, NOTHING will happen, so risks must be taken.
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@17 It’s just an SNL clip.
@JD… Sure, but this isn’t something that people can argue as if it’s a point of opinion. It’s an empirical question: Do affirmations work, and if so, when and how? People can go back and forth talking about what they believe about whether or not it works, but it’s something that scientists have actually tested in randomized controlled experiments. There’s a HUGE literature to draw on.
Just writing opinions on something like this in either direction … well, it could be done a lot better.
I’m not a psychologist, but it would make a much higher quality article if #11 up there had written something on this topic instead of Sierra.
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I don’t understand this. An affirmation is saying something positive and true about yourself like “I work hard” or “I have a good sense of humor” to help yourself be more positive. Saying something completely false that you WISH was true is not an affirmation.
I’m guessing people would have the same effect by stating goals out loud and positive steps being taken to achieve them (actually I’d expect better results from this since most people probably feel too silly to do it the other way).
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Let us know how that works out.
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Some people like chocolate ice cream, some people like vanilla. If affirmations work for you, great. If they don’t, or you chose not to find out, great, too. Enough with the sanctimony, snark and judgment. There are plenty of ways to get rich slowly without slamming other people.
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Deaf or mute people are missing out on this one, too. How will they ever get rich without being able to tell themselves that they are?
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I hope Campbell doesn’t just tell her readers to go forth and do useful career and self-promoting stuff.
Without providing a little more information or instruction, that’s useless. With it, it’s just any other self-improvement manual.
Affirmations are like reading instructions for a diet and expecting to get thin. It’s all about the fantasy.
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I’m becoming a big believer in action. If I find time to do the affirmations too I’ll test it out and see.
I think belief has a big impact as well.
If you believe in what you’re selling or doing – chances are you’ll follow through.
If you don’t believe in what you’re selling or doing – phrases you repeat back to yourself …even to the contrary – may seem hokey & mpty.
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Attraction thinking is bunk, but changing the way you think about yourself will really make a big difference in your life.
If you believe that you are a screw up who will never stay on your budget, you will fulfill that.
Therefore I think it is useful to repeat to yourself every day, “I am a responsible person and I have my financial life under control and I am taking the steps to get (whatever your goal is–a car, out of debt, an emergency fund).” It’s a great way to stop the “why bother? I’ll always be broke!” negative thinking that undermines so many people’s best intentions.
On the other hand, visualizing yourself into some magical situation where you are covered in money won’t make it happen.
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This speaker in this TED video says you should keep goals to yourself.
http://blog.ted.com/2010/09/02/keep-your-goals-to-yourself-derek-sivers-on-ted-com/
I have to agree with J.D. I believe in being positive, in setting goals and following them up with actions. But I don’t like affirmations like “people love giving me money” – in fact I refuse to say them.
People don’t like giving you money but people are willing to give you money only if you make it their while such as through selling them a good or a service. The reality is people hold on tight to their money. People don’t love giving money.
What helps me the most is having a positive attitude and doing something to help me towards my goal. When I exercise I think to myself, “haha yay I’m on my way to having a healthier body.”
That’s much better than saying “I’m a hottie.”
btw I hate the secret, I thought it was a scam when it first came out and I still think that its a scam. In the end I think any type of magical thinking does hurt people.
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I fail to see the use in empty affirmations and hollow words. Hard work will get you much farther in this life than wishes and dreams. How does the expression go… %*$@ in one hand, wish in the other… see which one fills up first.
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I liked this article.
Affirmations and positive thinking have worked really well for me (and my finances) over the years.
If you want to give affirmations a try, check out the “Har-money” cards. Not sure who publishes them, but they’re available online.
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@32 Jaime– that’s a brilliant short talk, thanks for posting it.
In my family we have a custom that when we *really* want something to happen we don’t tell other people. My parents arrived at this from empirical observation, and lacking a rational explanation attributed it to a “jinx” (even though they aren’t really superstitious, don’t believe in luck or play games of chance, etc. ). Now thanks to science the mystery of the blabbermouth jinx is finally solved!
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El Nerdo-Glad you liked it
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But this post did say that. Affirming isn’t enough. And lying to ourselves can be an action instead of just talk.
Let me explain myself.
There is a modern philosopher of religion (whose name I don’t recall… perhaps it was Pascal? I don’t think so.). Their basic argument was that we need God/religion to be moral, but that we could “fake it until we make it” by attending church, tithing, etc. If we believed in our belief it would result in moral behavior, even if we hadn’t yet made it to a belief in God. Being the heathen that I am, I argued that belief in belief is all that matters, and God need not be at the end of that rope. If we posit that the universe is ultimately working toward good, and if believing that belief made us better people (more moral, more capable of achieving our goals, or whatever.), then it would be in our best interests to develop a believable justification for that belief, even if we can never actually prove it. This is watering it down, of course.
Basically, the question is whether faking it until you make it can work, or whether it’s ethical to “trick yourself into believing something” for the benefits that having that belief entails, regardless of whether what you’re believing is true. If you fake it well enough, I think the answer is yes.
Walt Whitman was a farm bred kid with no business chops to speak of. He threw on a suit, walked into the office of a local newspaper, and faked his way into a job. By throwing on that suit and taking on the newspaper man persona he was “acting the lie”.
After I graduated from school I had no job prospects and a dwindling savings on top of impending loan payments. I was super depressed, and that made me lethargic with a hankering for crappy food. Finally, I started lying to myself. I started telling myself that I was successful, that I had money to spare, and business opportunities popping up all the time. It was total BS, but my goal was to make it so believable that even I would forget that it wasn’t true. I bought a nice shirt, tie, pair of slacks, belt, and pair of dress shoes. Not breaking the bank, but nice enough that I could believe I was someone important when I looked in the mirror.
How would someone this successful talk? How would someone this successful walk? Carry themselves? Think? Etc. I wanted to act like that person until I was that person.
I would go out into public in my shirt and tie and practice being that person. It was amazing the response I would get. People would sit by me on the bus and start talking to me, when before I would always have a empty seat next to me (you win some, you lose some, right?). I even had a person buy me a drink once, just for the opportunity to schmooze with someone wealthy/powerful/etc. As a male, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that a stranger would buy me a drink. The better I played this act, the better people responded, and the better I felt; the better I felt, the better I played the act, and so on. I got an interview and walked in super confident that I already had the job. Aced it.
There is a caveat though. I was spending beyond my means in order to make myself believe I was more successful than I actually was. The fear that my ROI wouldn’t cover all of my credit card charges would cause me to become super frugal for stretches of time in order to pay off my yo-yoing debt. It’s hard to keep believing that you’re super wealth and successful if you have to pinch pennies. And, once my student loan payments came due, I had to become extremely frugal permanently–I didn’t have the money to maintain the lie.
I think the Placebo Effect is largely to blame for this phenomenon. Wired Magazine wrote an article on how placebos have actually become more effective over the years, which just stands in the face of science (perhaps we’ve become more receptive to our body’s ability to self-repair ?) In Breaking the Spell, Daniel Dennett speculates that the placebo effect could be partially to blame for spiritual healing giving credence to early religions.
Even contemporary studies have shown that attending church (something which I myself do not do) has physiological benefits, which likely stem from increased social interaction and the increased production of hormones like oxytocin as a result of such interactions.
Ultimately, the affirmations alone won’t do you any good. But if telling yourself “I have lots of money in the bank” aligns you with the values of someone who actually does have lots of money in the bank (i.e. saving a certain percentage of each paycheck, being mindful of what money is being spent on, etc.) then it’s a good lie to tell yourself (if you can’t make yourself believe it, it’s going to get you nowhere though). Just don’t go too far: “I have lots of money in the bank, so I can buy X.” The “I can buy X” will out pace the “I have lots of money in the bank” every time, and there’s no way you’ll be able to trick yourself into believing you have lots of money in the bank. I learned that lesson the hard way.
That said, I’ve been trying to find more sustainable ways to lie to myself. I was in line for a promotion at work, but when I couldn’t maintain my lie about being successful, my mood sank again and I became less approachable at work. As such, I got passed over on the promotion. I’m focusing on little lies that make me smile more, etc., and I find that’s already helped people start gravitating toward me again at work.
If you accept that you’re lying to yourself, and work hard to make those lies believable, pretty soon they might not be lies.
P.S. As already mentioned, don’t make outlandish goals about what you will do in the future. Definitely go the “I am…” or “I have…” routes rather than the “I will…” route unless the “I will…” is small and actionable (“I will run from work to the bus stop every day.”). Setting large future-tensed goals fulfills our need so that we don’t even have to work on those goals. The same for telling people your goals.
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1. I am the best looking man on the planet.
2. I am the richest man on the planet.
3. I am the best blogger on the planet.
(I live on a planet all by myself)
I agree with several other commenters, this article is pretty silly. Talk to the mirror all you want, I’ll be out trying to make something happen.
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I watch this youtube video whenever I need a pick me up, and get my thinking back on track.
Pure positive energy, regardless of who’s saying it or who’s receiving it can’t be beat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg
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Everything starts in the mind. Creating a conscious mind will help you to achieve financial success. Affirmation can help you train your mind that money is kind to you and you will be kind or in control of it. The affirmations also create a conscious awareness of what you say and desire your finances to be. Now believe in your affirmations and become a conscious creator of your financial life.
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Let me start by saying that my experience in financial matters before writing this book and creating my Financial Stress Reduction Workshops twenty years ago was owning a bookkeeping service with 13 employees, many clients, and nearly half a million per year in sales. I’m a very practical person, and things had better work before I’m going to recommend them.
I saw first hand the difficulties people were having with money, from not pricing their products and services correctly, to overspending their budget (no matter how much money they made), and having fear-based mindsets about the subject of money. The wealthy people often had no spirit and the spiritual people were mostly broke. My position is that we are spiritual beings having a material existence and we should master both of them.
When “The Secret” came out, I was the first one to alert my readers that the “Law of Attraction” doesn’t work unless you also pay attention to the “Law of Action”. Although I have had clients who just wanted to sit in their room and chant “Omm, I’m making lots of money omm”, I stress to everyone that affirmations are not enough – you’ve got to have an action plan and do some hard work to get what you want. Like, how many affirmations would you have to say in front of a piano before you could play it? Get real – you’d better take some lessons and practice.
However, if you take lessons and practice while saying to yourself “I’ll never be able to do this” and “I’m not good enough” you are probably going to quit before you accomplish anything.
People have lots of terrible fears and negative thoughts about money. When I ask groups I speak to what their thoughts are about money, they say “Money is the root of all evil”, “money doesn’t grow on trees”, “it’s just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor man”, “we’re never going to make any money”, etc. The energy in the room goes down as people contemplate all that is wrong with their financial condition.
Dwelling on what isn’t working and what you’re afraid of can make you give up before you even start to go for what you want in life. In the twenty years I have been doing this work, I have found that affirmations are encouraging, inspiring and fun, helping people generate the energy to take the positive actions that lead to a richer life. It’s a beginning to shift their consciousness from “I can’t” to “I can and I will”.
But that is only step one. The next steps are: choose your goal, design an action plan to achieve it, work the plan, BUDGET – which stands for Baby-U-Deserve-Getting-Every-Thing (but not necessarily today), find “Your People” and avoid “Not Your People”, manage your time (do what makes money first), survive the storms and challenges that arise, and be sure to carve out time for yourself to enjoy life and help others enjoy it, too. As Patricia Fripp said, “If they write the biography of your life in 14 chapters and 13 of them are about work, it’s not going to have a happy ending.”
If you think affirmations are hogwash, that’s fine if that’s what works for you. If you’re happy, rich, successful at a career you love, and have wonderful friends and empowering relationships without positive thinking, great (although I would suspect that you are already thinking some really positive things and just don’t need to retrain your mind to think them).
If your life could use a little improvement, maybe affirmations could help. There was a time when I was broke, had a business failure, lost everything and had to start over. I don’t know that I would have made it if I hadn’t had EGBOK (Everything’s Gonna Be O-Kay) written on my wall and done a bunch of affirmations to get me to the office to start over and believe in myself again. They worked for me and I’ve seen firsthand that they’ve worked for thousands of others, so I’m going to keep sharing them!
Cheers, and best wishes to all of you for a happy, rich, fulfilling life!
J.D.’s response: Thanks for contributing to the discussion, Chellie. I appreciate it.
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I think critics are oversimplifying and missing nuances about the concept of affirmations.
Saying an affirmation like, “I have plenty of money to pay my bills” doesn’t have to mean that you’re tricking yourself into believing it if it’s not true. You can still be well aware of your current situation. And just because some people do destructively delude themselves, doesn’t mean there’s no value when used properly. (Just like cars are a valuable tool for people, even though some people are horrible drivers and cause fatal accidents.)
So what’s the point? To make pretend. To conjure up the “feeling” of having enough money to pay the bills. And that feeling can provide hope and inspiration and propel someone towards productive activities that help them achieve their goal. It’s like a mini, day-to-day version of those “describe your perfect life 5 years from now” exercises.
No, affirmations are not an end in themselves just like dressing well or working hard (if you’re “climbing the wrong ladder”) won’t make you successful by themselves. I think Sierra was trying to describe this with the dressing analogies – Affirmations are just one component: a way of daily aligning your inner energy with your goals.
And if you don’t operate this way or resonate with this concept, fine. But maybe get over your perceived superiority and try to expand your mental capacity to grasp the idea that other people operate differently from you and this can be an incredibly useful tool for them.
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JD, I’ve been reading this blog since you began it and have always appreciated the commonsense theme in the title: Get Rich Slowly. There are no quick fixes; I cannot simply “affirm” that I have enough for retirement, spend within my means, and am organized. In fact, your blog emphasizes that, if you want to change your financial situation, you must take responsibility and DO realistic actions.
While I do feel that the guest blogger, Sierra, actually believes what she is saying, it doesn’t mean that what she says is correct. One, she doesn’t understand the definition of the word “affirmation”: an affirmation is asserting what is true. Not what is wished or desired.
So her daily affirmations:
“People love to give me money!”
“I am rich and wonderful.”
“I am now earning a great big income doing what satisfies me.”
are simply not true. The most disturbing aspect, though, is how they take her actions completely out of the picture. She is passive–except for her affirmations–because her goals “just happen” or people “give her money.” Real affirmations could be:
“I don’t need to buy things to make me happy.”
“I made a budget and will stick with it.”
“Managing my money won’t scare me, I look forward to being in control.”
Please, reconsider putting guest posts like these on this blog. I feel that they are completely against your original intent that there are no shortcuts or quick fixes. Your brand is being polluted and subverted by this… opinion.
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@37 Matt: Yes, you were thinking of Pascal, but not “fake it to you make it.” “Pascal’s Wager” was a way of hedging your spiritual bet: if you believe in God and he doesn’t exist, you wasted some time worshiping something you don’t believe in, no big deal. If you don’t believe in God, and He DOES exist, bummer, hell for you! So you may as well believe in God.
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Chellie Campbell and her books are delightful, and anyone who takes the time to read them and use her wisdom benefits greatly.
Even my skeptical “Mr. Science” husband started doing Chellie’s “Wealthy Spirit” daily affirmations after he saw how energized, calm, proactive, and successful I was becoming using them.
He now loves them, too, and is watching his sales increase with a smile.
Neither of us go a day now without using the affirmations, both Chellie’s and our own.
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
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I want to throw in here the faith-perspective on prayer. I do think there’s something weird about saying, “I am a money magnet!” in the mirror, especially if you’re, ahem, not a money magnet at all. But, that said, I am a deep believer in God, in a God who cares about our realities, and this includes money-struggles. I do believe that, when we are honest with God about our faults and we ask God for help, God will help us out. I’m not saying we’ll get a million dollars (actually I think God is against wealth more often than being for it), but I do believe that God opens a way for those who are disheartened and without hope.
I just wanted to put that out there. I do pray for all my stress (including finance), and I have faith that God will take care of me.
-Simon
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I have great experiences using affirmations. But I agree that they have to be combined with action, otherwise they will get you nowhere.
I like what Chellie Campbell says about the fact that you affirm things that aren’t true yet: ‘telling the truth in advance’.
If you consistently use affirmations (I do them first thing in the morning after waking up and last thing in the evening before switching off the light in bed), you will see things happening in your life. Some changes happen fast, some take a longer time, but I’ve often been surprised to see that I have in my current reality what I had been affirming months or sometimes weeks or even days earlier.
I’d say give it a try, combine it with smart & sensible action, and see what happens.
It’s important though to only use affirmations that you feel good about when saying them. If something feels off, or odd, or too big or crazy or stupid, don’t use it. Change & tweak the phrasing until you can really believe in it.
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Drivel.
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Some of these affirmation types ideas with wealth seem to have their roots in “Think and Grow Rich” from Napoleon Hill. Mostly tied around self-doubt and self-esteem. Not sure if I really buy into the idea of daily affirmations but I do believe that approaching life with a general fun loving and positive attitudes can pay big dividends… but I don’t see myself doing affirmations in the mirror.
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My problem with Sierra’s affirmations is not whether they work or not. I’ll leave that to the behavioral scientists.
I felt really uncomfortable with what she decided to affirm. I know this won’t be popular with lots of folks here but if I I’m going to put my attention toward achieving something meaningful in my life, it won’t be being “rich and wonderful” or people giving me money.
How about affirming that I live in a community of people and that I need to be generous with others? How about that I will remember that I’m not the center of my own universe?
Instead of magical thinking to give us wealth, I’d rather see us focusing on our responsibilities to others.
The greedy wealth affirmations make me feel like I’m stuck in an Ayn Rand novel.
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