Why Affirmations Alone Aren't Working

Affirmations don’t work when they conflict with your existing beliefs. If your brain doesn’t believe what you’re saying, it creates resistance instead of reinforcing change.

When I first started all of this - and by this, I mean my website, my content channels, teaching others, I kept finding that a lot of people were in the same spot I had been for way too long - feeling like I was doing everything "right" to manifest into my life but only having success some of the time.

So, what if the whole reason why you keep struggling with your manifestation practice is because everything that you've been taught has been completely missing the point? This could be why your affirmations aren't working.

Are Affirmations the Problem?

First, no, affirmations are not the problem - it is a bit deeper than that.

Look, I never tried to just repeat something to myself 10,000 times per day - to be honest, I felt like that was missing the point entirely...how could I enjoy life if I was spending the majority of my day saying some 'perfect' sentence to myself?

And if you think I am being dramatic with the 10,000 times per day claim, just do a quick search on YouTube and you will see that I am not.

Now, I have used affirmations - I speak positive affirmations to myself all the time and pay attention to what stories I am telling myself about myself for sure but just not in the way I see it being taught online.

A lot of times you are told to just write or say your affirmations so many times over and over during the day and you are certain to get exactly what you want if you can just convince yourself of it. But the problem is the convincing.

You have to realize that our brain is actually designed to confirm what we tell it we believe. Now, it is not like some magic genie who just creates everything you tell it but is is actually designed to focus on what we believe is true of ourselves.

Why Aren’t my Affirmations Working?

Affirmations aren’t working because they don’t align with your current beliefs. When your brain detects a mismatch between what you’re saying and what you believe, it creates resistance instead of change. Lasting results come from shifting belief - not just repeating words.

Why Repeating Affirmations Can Create Resistance

When you repeat an affirmation that you clearly do not believe even a little bit, you actually create conflict. You create resistance because you are in conflict with your beliefs and the brain will always go back to the beliefs.

Now, the advice is very well-intentioned and it is definitely grounded in something that would work. But the issue is is that when your brain is creating resistance because you don't actually believe it. This is why some folks report really amazing results and others are annoyed nothing is working. This is also why so many people misunderstand Neville Goddard’s teachings.

What Neville Goddard Actually Taught About Beliefs

Neville Goddard

But I've seen time and time again with the frustrations online that that's just not how it's working.

People are saying, "I'm repeating it over and over to the point of becoming obsessive about it and nothing is changing." And possibly things are actually just getting worse.

It's because you're creating the resistance in your brain. And the bigger that gap is from your declarative statement to what you truly believe and what your brain is focusing on, the

more struggle you're building for yourself.

How can I make affirmations work for me?

You can close that gap through evidence...

You can start to create those belief systems by doing things that show you that you

can and you build your confidence, you begin to prove to your brain that what you're saying is truth.

You intentionally create self-experiments that prove to you that you can and the possibility is

available. It's not forcing a manifestation, but you're going to take deliberate steps that prove to you that

you are this person and you're able to be this person.

Manifestation practices say that what you become and what you truly believe of yourself is what

you will become.

Then your confirmation bias in your brain says yes I will prove to you that you are who you

say that you are and who you believe that you are. This is where science and manifestation connect.

If affirmations haven’t been working for you, it’s not because you’re doing it wrong - it’s because you’re missing a key piece.

I break this down deeper in my video here: