Individualized Positive Affirmations for Improving Self-Esteem
By Harry Henshaw
Positive self-esteem is very important if not crucial to our happiness
and well being as a human being. Having positive self-esteem can make the
difference in that which we take on in life, in that which we go about
achieving and creating. Having positive self- esteem also allows us to have
healthy and joyous relationships with others, to experience true intimacy.
One could also assert that having positive self-esteem gives us access to
genuine spirituality. Poor self-esteem, on the other hand, creates the space
for us to experience a great deal of negativity in life including
depression, anxiety, fear, stress and loneliness. Negative or poor
self-esteem is also highly correlated with alcohol and drug dependency. Some
even believe that a negative or poor self-image is the source of such
addictions.
While it appears that the importance of positive self-esteem is somewhat
understood, the unanswered question has always been about how to improve or
enhance a person’s self-esteem. Some belief that a person’s self-esteem
rests upon them being successful, in accomplishing that which they take on
in life, of achieving goals that they have set for themselves. As a result
much effort is put into assisting others in effectively and efficiently
planning their doing in life. Others believe that our sense of self-esteem
is determined by the type of relationships that we have, that by surrounding
ourselves with positive people who will appreciate and acknowledge us that
our esteem will be positively impacted. To this end training is given to
help a person improve his interpersonal skills, how he communicates and
relates with others. While both of these endeavors are important, it is not
the having or doing that creates positive self-esteem. Ones self-esteem is
not given or to be obtained from without, external to the person.
One very effective way to improve self-esteem is through the use of
positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are very powerful for
transforming how a person feels and thinks about himself, ultimately
influencing how he views and acts within the world and towards others. The
fundamental reason why positive affirmations are so effective is that their
nature or structure reflects what already exists in our mind. Our identity
or who we think we are, our current thinking patterns, are also a series of
affirmations, composed fundamentally of mere words or language. Everything
we think, all of the thoughts that we have, are merely affirmations.
Positive affirmations, when used consistently, begin to alter our prevalent
internal language pattern, as negative as it may be, our inner self talk or
dialogue that exists within us. The end result of the consistent use of
positive affirmations is the transformation of an inner negative language
pattern into one that is positive in nature
The most effective way to use positive affirmations is with the
individual’s own voice. While a person can have a beneficial result from
listening to a commercially developed product that employs positive
affirmations recorded by another, the transformative power of this
technology is enhanced or strengthened by the positive messages being
delivered in the person’s own voice. By using a person’s own voice to
transform the inner dialogue, there is less resistance to the
transformational process due to the fact that the voice itself is the same
or identical. It is as though the negative voice or language pattern that
one hears repeatedly in life is altered or transformed by the consistent
exposure and listening to that same voice but with the structure of positive
enhancing affirmations. Eventually the structure will transform from one
that is negative to one that is positive in nature.
The process of using ones own voice in doing work with positive
affirmations can be strengthened with the use of therapeutic relaxation
music. While the use of ones own voice is very powerful for creating change
in a person’s life, the use of specially designed therapeutic relaxation
music assists in creating the audio space for this process to be very
powerful. We tend to be more open or suggestible to positive affirmations or
language when we are in a state of relaxation. When combined with binaural
audio tones the relaxing affect of the therapeutic relaxation music is
greatly enhanced. When used with the combined effect of the therapeutic
relaxation music and binaural audio tones and consistently, the positive
enhancing affirmations that are delivered will have such a profound affect
upon improving and transforming a person’s internal, self-talk and
eventually his self-esteem.
The technology of utilizing positive affirmations that are recorded in a
person’s own voice and therapeutic relaxation music is currently being
employed in the treatment of those suffering from substance dependency
problems. At the Holistic Addiction Treatment Program in North Miami Beach,
Florida, clients are given access to this powerful technology. Clients have
the ability to create personal affirmations that empower them and support
their recovery and also are able to record these affirmations. The recorded
positive affirmations are then mixed with specially designed therapeutic
relaxation music to create a powerful audio product to assist the individual
in his recovery. Once created the client is trained in the most effective
manner in which to utilize their personal CD as part of their overall
recovery plan. Those clients who utilize this powerful technology tend to
improve their self- esteem, stay in recovery and improve the quality of
their life in general. When a person feels and thinks more positively about
himself he tends to be more positive towards everything that he is taking on
in his life, including and most importantly his recovery.
Dr. Henshaw earned his doctoral degree in Human Development and
Counseling from Boston University and has designed and implemented mental
health and substance abuse programs in outpatient, residential and hospital
settings in Illinois, Massachusetts and Florida.
Dr. Henshaw is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of
Florida, a certified Clinical Supervisor and a member of the American
Counseling Association & American Psychological Association. Trained in
neuro-linguistic programming, Dr. Henshaw is also certified to practice and
teach hypnosis in the State of Florida.
Dr. Harry Henshaw is also in private practice in Hallandale Beach,
Florida and utilizes the technology of Transformational Counseling. In
addition to his work as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Supervisor,
Dr. Henshaw has developed a series of audio helath care products for use by
professional providers and the public.
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