Wondering How Many Times To Repeat Affirmations?

How Many Times Should You Repeat Affirmations?

“I’m wondering how many times to repeat affirmations. What do you recommend?”

Written By Tiffany Woodfield, Financial Coach, TEP, CRPC®, CIM®

Wondering how many times to repeat affirmations?

Well, there are no hard and fast rules about how many times you should repeat affirmations, but in this post, I’ll share some general guidelines.

Ideally, whether you’re writing down your affirmations or saying them in your head, start with at least 5 minutes daily. 

Are you supposed to repeat affirmations?

Like anything in life, it’s hard to start something new.

But with practice, it gets easier and becomes a routine. This is why it is essential to repeat affirmations to create change. Getting started, you want to be consistent and honest with yourself about your affirmations. 

You can achieve this by saying your affirmations each day after something that is already part of your daily routine, such as brushing your teeth. 

The second part, being honest with yourself, is to make sure that when you create an affirmation, it aligns with what you value and is realistic. Your affirmations can be in support of a stretch goal but not something you 100% don’t believe could happen to you.  

What does “being honest” when setting affirmations mean to you?

I like to think of a tall ladder stretching up the side of the mountain. 

If the top is your end goal and you are using positive affirmations to guide you, then start with the first rung of the ladder and something that is just out of your reach. Each time you achieve a rung, set the next goal a little further ahead. Then, you aren’t asking yourself to jump up and fly through the air but instead consistently go up the mountain, one step at a time, to your destination. 

Also, as you climb the ladder, you will see how sometimes you actually skip steps because your affirmations practice is of better quality. 

How many times do you write affirmations when working on manifesting something?

Whether writing down affirmations or saying them in your head, starting with at least 5 minutes daily is essential. 

For example, let’s say you write, “I am strong and can do things that challenge me because it helps me to grow.” You can spend 5 minutes writing this down repeatedly or 5 minutes focusing on what this means to you. 

The most important thing is to be aware when your mind drifts and to bring it back to your intention with the affirmation. You must do this every day, and ideally twice daily. 

And remember, positive affirmations aren’t a quick fix. 

Affirmations are a powerful tool that is more like a controlled slow burn. In my experience, when you reflect and see how far you have come in three months, six months or a year, you see the change that happened. But in the moment, you often don’t see the change. So, reflecting on your progress is an important part of your affirmations practice.  

How many times should I write down affirmations?

While the number of times you write down your affirmations is important, the quality of your practice is equally valuable. 

These are the most critical things to implement to achieve results:

• Be consistent. State the affirmations once daily.
• Be realistic and use affirmations that resonate with you.
• Be committed to the process and appreciate it isn’t a quick fix but a lasting one.
• Starting with a focused goal and affirmations in alignment with this.

Remember, affirmations are the first step in making a worthwhile change. It is essential to take action as well.

Why should I try repeating affirmations for 21 days?

You may have heard you need to say affirmations for 21 days.

This is because research has pointed towards the idea that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days to create a new habit, whether that is giving up drinking or starting a new health routine. According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, ” …how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances.”

Maxwell Maltz, the father of the 21-days-to-create-a-new-habit concept, wrote, “… it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.” The key word here is minimum.

While there have been many articles written about how it takes 21 days to create a habit, that’s not entirely true.

It may only take 21 days to create a new thought pattern or way of being. But it could also take a bit longer. That said, it can be easier to start a new routine if you know how long you have to be committed to doing it. So by telling yourself, “Okay, I commit to writing down positive affirmations every day for 21 days,” you are more likely to be motivated to start. 

Then, after 21 days, you can return to your journal and consider how your negative thoughts have shifted in just three weeks!

And you can decide if you want to keep going for longer. 

Affirmations…A Magic Pill?

Remember, you are teaching your brain to change how it perceives certain things.

So, while it isn’t a magic pill, it is effective at helping you change how you look at things. Two individuals in the same circumstances can see things very differently. You have a choice in how you view things. 

Are you a glass-empty or glass-full kind of person? 

Affirmations will help you shift a negative thought pattern. 

So, if you are stressed with life in general and all your obligations, an affirmation such as “I am relaxed, and life is easy” isn’t realistic because it is too far from reality for your brain to comprehend and believe. 

Instead, you could say, “Life is full and busy; I appreciate how many things I can successfully manage.” This is more likely to actually help you feel calmer because you’re entering a state of gratitude and affirming that you’re doing well. 

Top Affirmation Tips

1. Start repeating affirmations at least 5 minutes daily, either by writing them down or saying them in your head.
2. In my experience, affirmations are more effective when repeated daily, ideally twice, focusing on their meaning and intention.
3. Repeating affirmations is crucial to create a change; it’s about being consistent and honest with your affirmations.
4. Link your affirmation practice to an existing daily routine for consistency.
5. Your affirmations should be realistic and align with your values, supporting stretch goals but still realistic and believable.
6. Consider your affirmation practice as climbing a ladder towards your goal, setting achievable steps.

Key Points

In my experience, you should repeat the positive affirmations that you’ve selected 1-3 times per day for five minutes.

When you start engaging in negative self-talk negative, bring your attention to those thoughts. Accept and allow the thoughts. Then replace them with a positive affirmation. It’s important to know that these positive affirmations work best in combination with goal setting and positive action.

Our brain believes what we tell it over and over. This is like training a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets. So, when you keep saying good things about yourself, your brain starts to believe it, and this can help you feel better and reach your goals.

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Additional Resources:

• Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation – Read It Here
• The Science of Affirmations – Read It Here

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