An affirmation is an emotional support or encouragement. It can be for someone else, e.g. “he nodded in affirmation,” or can be for oneself when you want to manifest something for yourself. In new age terminology, it is called positive thinking and self-empowerment.

We read about gurus and other spiritual guides who profess to teach you affirmations which if said out aloud morning and night will get you what you want. Is it true? Can just reading aloud an affirmation get results or is there something deeper which we seem to overlook? If simple reading out would work, then all our problems can be solved without any effort at all.

Let us examine this further. Just saying to yourself that you want to be healthy and slim and then gorging on sugary delights will not get the results that you want. You will have to help yourself by controlling what you eat and let the affirmation do its work on your subconscious mind.

In the same manner, reading out affirmations of riches, wealth, and money will not get you rich unless you go out and work for it. If all you do is stand in front of the mirror and say out to yourself loudly, “I am rich and wealthy” and then spend the day on the couch watching t.v. or surfing the internet, you will find yourself in the same financial position year after year. You will have to help yourself by getting up and looking for a job, working on your business, or putting your finances in order.

Another thing people want is love. If love is what you want then love is what you have to give. Only reading out affirmations on love and not caring for your family and friends will leave you lonely as before. You will have to get up from your favorite couch, meet people, say out aloud, “I love you,” and then you will know how it is to feel loved.

The next issue to deal with is how to put this in practice. Yes, your affirmations will work if you put them in practice. You will repeat them day in and day out until it becomes second nature to you. However, you will have to remember to help the affirmations work by practicing them.

Let’s say you want to be healthy. Your daily affirmation can be something like, “I am perfectly healthy. All my bodily functions are balanced and working correctly.” You say this diligently every morning and night until it has become a part of you. How to put this into practice is the next question. For example, you will make a conscious effort to eat wholesome and nourishing food. After all, a car will only perform according to the fuel you put in. Similarly, your body will not perform well unless it gets the “right fuel.”

Along with a healthy and wholesome diet, you will need to exercise your body.  What we use will develop more and what we do not will wither away. Any exercise is better than none. Just make sure you move your body enough to help burn the extra calories and keep it well lubricated.

You want to have a lot of wealth and be able to buy what you want. Your affirmations will reflect your state of mind. Along with that, you will have to do two important things. One, live as though you already have what you want, and two, work toward achieving your goals. Imagining yourself wearing your dream clothes, your dream watch, driving your dream car, living in your dream home, traveling to your dream vacation. In other words living your dream. For the time being, it may be in your imagination, but if your affirmations are strong, your belief in them is right, you will surely achieve your dream.

Along with living your dream, you will have to work toward it. If you have a job, you will try to find a better job. If you are a business person, you will try to expand your business horizons. Wherever you are in life at the present moment, you will try to go to the next level. Just dreaming about riches and not doing anything about it may leave you only where you are.

You will have to be able to love humanity, nature, and everything around you from the bottom of the heart and profess the love to everything and everyone you love. In return, everything and everyone you love will love you back several times more. The affirmation of love will have to come out from the heart. Only then will it work. Just saying it out will not get the love you want.

An affirmation is positive thinking which when put into practice will empower you to get results. To be wealthy, you will act as though you already have the riches along with taking affirmative action. The same will hold true for love and health.