Why do you believe what you believe? For many people on this planet, they believe what they believe because it’s what they’ve been exposed to repetitively throughout their lives. Without an innate determination to question those beliefs, they will capture you.
Why do affirmations work? They are simply messages repeated to yourself over and over again. The more you hear them, see them, and say them, the more you believe them.
The Nazi Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels has one of the most famous quotes about repeating a message or propaganda. “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will come to believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” He called it The Big Lie.
Now Goebbels and company used this principle for evil purposes. Yet, there’s no denying the truth of the statement. A message repeated over and over begins to gain acceptance in your consciousness.
He got one thing wrong though. The principle doesn’t just work for lies. It works for any message – positive, negative, or neutral – that is repeated often enough. The message seeds deeply in your consciousness and there for ready recall. Don’t believe it? See if you can finish these ad tagline sentences.
- Like a good neighbor…
- America runs on….
- Bounty: The quicker…
- M&M’s: Melts in your mouth…
The reason you, more than likely, easily finished those sentences is you’ve heard them over and over and they right there beneath your consciousness waiting to be triggered. That’s what effective marketing does. It delivers a concise, memorable, message over and over. That’s what affirmations can do you for you.
“Wait a minute, Ray!” you might say. “I may know that like a good neighbor, state farm is there, but that doesn’t mean I believe it.”
True enough, but the affirmations – your ad campaign to yourself – is presumedly messages you do want to believe and accept. So by repeating them over and over, you allow the power of repetition to seed your consciousness with words that inspire, push you, and bolster you.
Then, by using words, that evoke strong emotions you generate a powerful belief in the messages. After all, “I can’t” was just an ad campaign you or someone else ran against you. “I can” or “I am” or “I choose” can just as easily become your new ad campaign.
Repetition and belief are the duel engines of affirmations. Even someone as nefarious as Goebbels had one thing absolutely right. Say your affirmations often enough and you WILL come to believe them.
Stay inspired and thanks for reading today’s post. I hope your weekend is rejuvenating you and getting you ready for a great week ahead!
Two weeks from today, April, Mia, and I will arrive back in Kansas City to restart our lives there. We are gearing up for our second cross-country move in four years. Please keep sending us positive energy for that journey!
Ray
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The Affirmation Spot Blog 
Great post and love this quote “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will come to believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself”. Thanks for sharing!
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