This Powerful Technique Will Make Your Affirmations 10x More Effective 

"I think affirmations have gotten a really bad rap," meditation teacher, spiritual guide, and New York Times bestselling author Kimberly Snyder says on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. She's certainly not wrong: Other experts and researchers have noted how affirmations can be quite aspirational—which has the potential to make you feel even more uneasy. 

But according to Snyder, these views oversimplify the power of the spoken word. Of course, simply telling yourself I am content or I am strong won't do much if you don't actually believe you are content or strong. "If we're just rattling off a bunch of words, then we're lying to ourselves," she says. Rather, in her newest title, You Are More Than You Think You Are, Snyder recommends a specific five-step process to make affirmations actually stick (originally taught by Paramahansa Yogananda, an Indian Hindu monk credited with bringing yoga to the West).

First things first: Set your expectations. "You have to believe in the possibility of the affirmation in the first place, to an extent," says Snyder. It might be a reach, but make sure it's within a realistic scope. For example, you can't tell yourself I am a millionaire and expect to start rolling in cash. "If you really don't really believe it, it's just ridiculous to even try this process," she notes. 

To truly connect with the affirmation practice, you want to create a peaceful, calm environment. "We never want to just speak an affirmation in the middle of a Zoom call or when you're focusing on something else," says Snyder. "You want to be in a very centered place with equanimity and calmness, ideally after you meditate." 

Whatever affirmations you choose (here's a list of examples, if you need inspiration), frame them in the "I am" form. I am loved, I am open to opportunities, I am resilient…you get the idea. Speak the words out loud first, says Snyder, then start to say them softer and softer until you reach a whisper—and then until you start to say them silently. 

Here comes the catch: Speaking the words themselves is only the first part of a successful affirmation practice. The next step is to use the energy you receive from those words to take some sort of action. The affirmations simply help you tap into what Yogananda calls "the superconsciousness," which opens you up to the possibility of reaching your goals, whatever they may be. "As you continue to tune in, your intuition will then guide you," Snyder explains.

According to Snyder, the reason affirmations can make you feel uneasy is because you listen to the overly critical mind. For example, when you tell yourself, I am going to make the New York Times bestseller list (or another similar reach), your brain immediately wants to course-correct with a dozen what if's. It's natural: You want to immediately make sense of what you're saying. But if you already have a relatively realistic affirmation in mind, Snyder recommends listening to your feelings rather than your critical thoughts. 

"A lot of our thoughts are from the egoic mind—the conscious part of us that, a lot of times, tells us thoughts that are not true," she says. "You know, the voice of the critic, the voice of self-doubt, the constant overanalyzing. So when we're looking to create something bigger or something that maybe we don't have right now, we don't want to listen to the overly critical mind."