
“Spin spin a letter.”
“R - Ribbit”
“Way to go!”
Forget Imagine by John Lennon, those are some deep song lyrics right there. Or at least my nine month old thinks so. He must find the song very inspirational because I hear it at least 300 times a day. I even heard my 8 year old absentmindedly singing it as he did his homework the other day. If you hear something enough, it will just become a permanent fixture in your brain and you can’t get it out.
Nazis used propaganda to brainwash the German youth into believing that Hitler’s ideas of a pure race of white people was desirable and beneficial for the betterment of their society. Posters touting his agenda were hung in public places and Nazi enthusiasts walked the streets with megaphones shouting catchy phrases and ideas for all to hear. Eventually many of the people there were so accustomed to hearing these things that they just became truth. As a result of this change of mind, roughly 11 million people lost their lives in the Holocaust. The power of persuasion and effectiveness of repetition are no joke.
I laugh just thinking about the Saturday Night Live skit called Daily Affirmations with Stewart Smalley. The main character is a pretty big loser. To boost his own self worth, he looks in the mirror every show and affirms to himself that “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it - people like me.” Various celebrities and guests show up on set to have a session with Stuart in hopes of boosting their self worth.
While it sounds funny, I think that this technique is actually a pretty effective way to change your thought patterns. The more we vocalize and tell ourselves things (and yes, I do think it is even more effective if things are said out loud), the more we tend to believe them. I don’t currently do this, but I am going to try it. I recently have read that it’s an effective method of essentially brainwashing yourself. Even the Bible says that we should meditate on His word. I wonder if that is for the purposes of ingraining it more deeply into the depths of our psyche, thus making it seem more like truth.
So here are some things that I think might be some good affirmations for myself. Come up with your own, give it a shot for a month or so and see if it makes any difference in the way you think.
- I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Exercise makes me feel great.
- I am not a slave to food.
- I make good and healthy eating choices based on my nourishment needs (I looked that one up but I liked it).
I’m going to start with these four. I will try to say them out loud every day for one month and see if I believe them to be true any more than I do right now. If you hear me talking to myself, don’t think I’m nuts.