Do positive affirmations sometimes feel like you’re just lying to yourself? If so, you’re not alone. We’ve all experienced struggle in our lives, and during those times, repeating a phrase that feels untrue can create more internal conflict than peace. There’s a powerful reason why positive affirmations don’t work for so many people, and it has everything to do with how we communicate with the different parts of ourselves.
Prefer to watch? I’ve put my video below or if you’re a reader simply continue reading the post.
The Internal Conflict of Traditional Affirmations
Say you are struggling, and in that state, you say to yourself, “I am abundant.” Can you feel what happens when you say that? There are likely several parts inside of you immediately resisting, saying, “No, you’re not. That’s a lie.”
Essentially, parts of us in that specific experience still don’t feel that the statement is true. So, by affirming that you are abundant, you inadvertently invalidate the part of you that doesn’t feel it yet.
By affirming that you are abundant, you invalidate the part that just doesn’t feel that yet. It invalidates it by saying to it that whatever you’re feeling is not right.
This approach invalidates the part of yourself that feels abundance is impossible because that’s what it currently believes. When we say, “You are abundant,” it’s like arguing with that part of ourselves instead of supporting it. This internal battle is a common repeating pattern that can keep us stuck in a loop of self-sabotage. If you’re interested in learning how to work with these parts of yourself instead of against them, you can explore our training to break free from self-sabotage by checking the schedule for the next available class.
Why Positive Affirmations Don’t Work and How to Shift Your Approach
So, what is the alternative? Instead of making a declarative statement that creates conflict, frame it as a choice. When you say it in this way, “I choose abundance. I choose to feel abundant,” something different happens.
That part of yourself that still doesn’t believe it’s possible can soften its resistance. It can go, “Okay, maybe. Maybe that’s a possibility.” This simple shift in language starts to change its frequency because you are no longer fighting it.
The resistant part is super confident in its state of non-abundance. By inviting it along with a choice, you bring it with you. It can then begin to feel the confidence and support of your conscious choice toward abundance as you walk together back into a state of wholeness.
This path leads to the remembrance of our true nature, which is that we are always abundant.
