But what makes powerful affirmations powerful? In my opinion it’s the addition of EFT that makes the affirmations powerful. (EFT is short for Emotional Freedom Techniques)

Why don’t affirmations always work?

Some people don’t find affirmations much use. This is because we often get a little voice in our head telling us we don’t believe what we’ve just said in an affirmation. Gary Craig, the founder of EFT calls them ‘tail-enders’. These are very useful because they are the key to overcoming.

What are Emotional Freedom Techniques?

We can overcome the negative obstacles by tapping on meridian end points on the face and body whilst getting in touch with the problem we have.
Negative thoughts and feelings are outward signs that the energy in the body is blocked somewhere. Our body has energy channels, called meridians, which were charted by the ancient Chinese and used in Chinese medicine. EFT uses this knowledge of the meridian end points as does acupuncture. However, EFT utilises tapping pressure on the points instead of needles. (If you have not come across Emotional Freedom Techniques before, then check out this page for an explanation and chart of the tapping points.)

Using the Set Up Statement

So, if you know EFT or have just read the free manual, then you know that most times EFT is used it starts with a set-up statement.
This acknowledges that you love and accept yourself even with the problem (that you’re addressing with EFT). But some people just cannot bring themselves to say those words because they don’t believe them to be true. So you may want to adapt the set-up to something you can believe in. A client of mine says: “I’m willing to love and accept myself”.

Tap on the Tail-enders

You can tap away the negative thoughts and feelings of those tail-enders that come to mind when you say an affirmation. This helps us when we’re thinking about how to be happy. Just listen for the ‘Yes Buts.”
Here is a sample affirmation that may have a tail-ender for you. “I love myself”. The tail-ender, that little voice in your head, may be saying “That’s totally untrue! I don’t even like myself.”
So, you can ‘tap on’ the fact that you don’t love yourself. “Even though I really don’t love myself I’m open to the possibility of doing so one day.” And then at each tapping point you can us the phrase “I don’t love myself”, or “I hate myself” or whatever feels true for you.

Need Some Help With EFT?

It’s not always easy to do the tapping on your own for yourself. Heck even good EFT practitioners have regular sessions with others! So if you want some help, find out the options here.

Tap in those powerful affirmations

When I want to work specifically on loving myself (and yes, I’m still a work in progress), I sometimes say the whole set-up statement at each tapping point. This emphasises and ‘taps in’ the ‘loving and accepting oneself’ part of the equation.
So lets get back to those powerful affirmations. Well, actually, I think you can use any affirmations you feel are right for you, but use EFT along with them. However, it’s important to make sure they are written in the correct way. Check out the page on writing affirmations if you’re not sure.