Atomic Essay 7: Do Daily Affirmations Really Help?
Don’t parrot repeat the text your half-assed meditation gurus are teaching.
There is this whole bunch of Instagram “Gurus” that repeatedly talk about affirmations. YouTube has like thousands of self-guided meditations that all include “affirmations” you are suppose to say to yourself morning and before sleeping.
Not sure, that just be repeating these — we are training our subconscious to think different or feel better. I realized that it’s such an incomplete practise.
Repeating positive affirmations without addressing the underlying issues and negative beliefs within oneself could be superficial and even counterproductive. And most of these “gurus” or “guides” do not talk about the second half.
Trying to suppress or deny negative thoughts and emotions through affirmations could create inner conflict and lead to further frustration.
The key is to not try to suppress or deny negative thoughts and emotions but rather understand them, accept them, and ultimately transcend them through meditation and mindfulness. True “transformation” can only occur when one goes beyond the level of the mind and reaches a deeper, meditative state of consciousness. That is the True Affirmation.
For me, engaging in an inner dialogue with myself or reflecting on my moods and emotions have been far more effective. It is after this, that I affirm myself that I am worthy or deserve better or whatsoever. I have started giving myself reasons as to why I am worthy or why I deserve better (that comes from those inner dialogues or reflection) — better processing for my inner conscious for sure. That’s when affirmations truly make sense.
Half knowledge or blind faith is a result of just being lazy. Ask more, be informed, not influenced.
About my atomic essays: Let’s be informed, not influenced
As an adult, we stop asking questions. Or at least at the same frequency as we did as kids. I want to change that.
I want to ask more questions, and ask the right questions. These questions are not necessarily to find A RIGHT answer. They’re all about making me think more, reflect on things, and maybe even challenge some of the stuff I thought I knew.
I take it as a little adventure for my brain. Each question is like a puzzle piece, and when I put them together, they create a bigger picture of understanding. It’s a small step to become a bit better at life.
My atomic essays are a short explanation of what I learnt. Hopefully it also helps someone with something.
