Remember when you were younger and when you got in trouble in school and the teacher made you write the same thing a 100 times? No? Well, I do as I certainly got in trouble often. I remember writing, “I will not throw things in class” 100’s of times. After I left detention, I was thinking how awful it was and how I should not get back in the position of having to do that again. Did I get in trouble again? Yes. But the things I wrote down really stuck with me and I typically got in trouble for something else the next time.
Unbeknownst to me, the teacher was actually instilling a valuable tool within me, the power of affirmations. Granted, I didn’t really think much about it after high school, but I got older and I often would sit around and think….how can I better accomplish goals? I had problems choosing goals, prioritizing, and often following through. I really needed to find a way of finding out what I wanted and getting super focused on it. I thought back on all the times in detention writing things and writing the same thing 100’s of times. Turns out, I was not the first one, affirmations have been used by millions to hone in on getting what they want in life.
Now, affirmations may seem like just another phoney new-age method, pop psychology-hoopla, but based on my experience, I have had nothing but success after using them. I have completed 99% of what I have set out to do with writing affirmations.It’s not like you don’t need to face fears, work hard, and use your brain, but the affirmations give direction to your efforts so they are being directed more efficiently.
I can best explain affirmations as a method of self-hypnosis. Saying things over and over helps, but writing them down repeatedly does something to your mind, it makes the thing you’re writing a center of your focus. If you are an overthinker and obsessive like me, you know how much you can analyze things until you feel paralyzed and lose yourself. Affirmations turn this psychology on itself by taking that form of thinking that keeps going and going, around,a nd around, and builds a path for it towards the progression of goals which can progress your journey in life. Otherwise, you’re just spinning your tires and it feels terrible.
First, find a goal and figure out...is it a dream or a goal? A goal is something that has a clear path to attainability. There is a movement or series of defined steps to getting to this goal that can be written down. A dream is more like, “I want to become an astronaut.” In order to become an astronaut, I would need to go to school all over again all the way through PhD, get straight A’s, be selected with luck by NASA, and then have a 4% chance to be chosen to go into outer space. It’s not totally realistic, and most likely I will not make it there. Going through all of that and with so much up to luck makes it a bad goal. If you have different circumstances, really want it, and have a clear path to become an astronaut, by all means go for it using affirmations. For goals, I am talking more on the lines of asking that girl out, losing weight, athletic goals, confronting fears, getting ahead in your career, etc. These are goals that can be broken into steps and affirmations can be used to etch each step into your mind as it’s completed.
Second, After you find a goal, ask why is it important to me? How can I achieve it? What are the steps? What will it cost? How can I benefit? You need to break down where you need to get to and how you will get there with specificity. Just writing, “ I will lose weight” is way too vague. You cannot just write down things and magically get there. A better example is, “I will lose 10 lbs by March 10th by going to work out twice a week." There’s a date to hold you accountable. There’s a clear path on what to do. There’s a clear goal on what you want to happen. The goal should be specific but not complex. The more complex the idea the harder it is to etch it in your mind so choose something straight-forward, short and catchy...something you won’t mind writing down 1000’s of times!
Third, wake up and write down this statement in a notebook and (if possible) even say it out loud as many times as you can each day. 10 times a day helps, but 100 times or more definitely will be more effective. You don’t want to get in the situation where you are waiting around for the affirmations to work, but instead putting all your focus onto writing this statement down and memorizing it as much as possible. As it takes hold, it will direct your energies towards this priority. You will unknowingly order food different, use your time different, act different, etc. because this new goal has become the gravity of your life. Everything will go to working towards it. Partly because it is so instilled in your thinking, and admittedly partly because you are sick of writing this down and want to complete it already so you can stop writing it.
Keep doing this until you have reached your goal. Then when you reach that goal, begin the process over with the next step of your goal or a new goal. You are essentially programming yourself to get what you want, what is most important to you. A lot of the bullshit will fall to the side, as you are spending your mental energy towards this goal or several goals. This reprogramming may uncomfortable as we fill our lives with a lot of stuff that keep us distracted, that keeps us away from goals, that makes us feel important but it really isn’t. People may think you are acting different, because...you are! Before you just made vague promises you would not keep because you were not sure what to do, now you are driven like a bullet towards its target. Once you boil down your life to your core beliefs and the goals you want to achieve using those, so much junk just falls to the wayside...so ready for it going into this!
You may be thinking...big whoop..writing the same thing over and over, real magic there Brad! It works. I am firmly a minimalist when it comes to getting most things done. The simple stuff is what works. It’s just that the simple things are tough. Even though they are simple, no one wants to do them 1000’s of times. They look for shortcuts, more complex and sophisticated sounding. But...complex does not stick..it loses its allure fast and you are back to the drawing board.
Many of you may be reading this and be asking...what does this have to do with beer? One, I have used affirmations this many times in my beer and brewing endeavors, and I also have a mini beer post to sneak in here at the end!
Tonight, I am sipping on Pecan Pie Porter by Clown Shoes Brewery. Tastes just like Sweet Pecan Pie and was aged in Bourbon Barrels. I have not really liked many IPAs by Clown Shoes, I just found them way too malty and sweet. But now I know why...their barrel-aged stouts and porters are definitely their specialty. The last 3 barrel-aged beers I have had from them recently have been stellar. They just really know flavor and proper barrel-work when it comes to the darker beers. They are from the East Coast, Ipswich, Massachusetts, but we get a pretty steady stream over here in Chicago. They make a great treat so don't hesitate grabbing one or visiting there!
Cheers everyone! Please follow and/or upvote if you like my post! Thank you!