Positive autosuggestion: what it is and how to use it to achieve our goals

Autosuggestion is a technique, related to the placebo, which has been used in the field of psychology so that a person can influence their own mentality. It is usually used to modify and/or guide one's own thoughts, emotions and behaviors in a direction that is usually positive for the subject himself, and is what is known as "autosuggestion positive".

That positive autosuggestion could be defined as self-induced inoculation of positive thoughts, through optimistic phrases and motivating, as well as with imaginative visualizations oriented towards what you want to achieve, so that condition one's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in that direction (for example, passing an exam, winning a sport, etc).

In this article we will explain in more detail what is and how the phenomenon of autosuggestion arises and how we could put it into practice ourselves through a series of guidelines.

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What is positive autosuggestion?

"Autosuggestion", which has also been called "self-hypnosis", is a psychology technique that is closely related to the placebo effect and

It has been used in the field of psychology so that a person can influence their own mentality.. To do this you must modify and also to guide your own thoughts, emotions and behaviors in a direction that you normally is usually positive for the subject himself, and is what is known as "positive autosuggestion", although autosuggestion also exists negative.

Note that autosuggestion It was originally developed by the French pharmacologist Émile Coué, who began to use a self-improvement technique that was based on self-induced suggestion, developing a novel method for the time (early 20th century), which was baptized with the name "Coué Method", based in part on positive autosuggestion and autosuggestion aware.

Positive autosuggestion consists of the self-induced inoculation of positive thoughts, through optimistic and motivating phrases, as well as imaginative visualizations, oriented towards what you want to achieve so that condition their own thoughts, emotions and behaviors in that direction, this being normally functional, positive and optimistic for oneself (p. g., passing an exam, losing weight, winning a race, winning a tennis match, etc.).

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How can we put positive autosuggestion into practice?

We normally use positive autosuggestion to change a situation we find ourselves in that doesn't please us or to achieve a wide variety of goals that we want to achieve. Therefore, before you begin to put positive autosuggestion into practice we must identify what we want to change or the goal we want to achieve and what is the route we must follow to do so.

We can also make a list of possible obstacles that we might have to overcome on the way to that goal that we have set for ourselves. proposed, in order to be prepared for it and weigh the pros and cons when implementing our plan to to get it. For positive autosuggestion to work, the advantages of achieving it should outweigh the inconveniences or possible obstacles and for that, the following guideline, which is based on the use of self-instructions, can be of great help to us.

1. Use self-affirmations

This technique of positive autosuggestion has a lot of weight because it consists of elaborating a series of positive sentences that motivate us to move towards our goals. These self-affirmations should have more weight for us than the possible inconveniences or obstacles that we could find, since so we could repeat those self-affirmations in those moments in which we find it difficult to move forward on our way to fulfill our purpose.

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2. Use visualization

Another very useful exercise for positive autosuggestion to work would be to perform visualization exercises in imagination.

To do this, we can find a quiet space and place ourselves in a comfortable position (p. g., sitting or lying down). Then it is advisable that we close our eyes and breathe deeply. Once a state of calm has been achieved, we can begin to imagine those self-affirmations that we had previously elaborated, so that we visualize ourselves when we have already fulfilled our objective.

When we are visualizing ourselves having fulfilled our objective, it can be of great help that we try enjoy that moment as if we were really living it and that we are focused on every detail of that image. This visualization exercise can give us a shot of adrenaline in those moments in which we we feel listless to achieve our goals, so it can be especially useful in those moments.

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3. Believe those self-statements and also the visualizations

For positive autosuggestion to be on the right track through self-affirmations and visualizations in imagination we must believe them, since otherwise it will be very difficult to self-induce that suggestion and, therefore, so much, our motivation to achieve our goals could be truncated, being likely that we end up abandoning.

If you believe that it is possible to achieve the goal you have set for yourself, you will feel more encouraged when it comes to fulfilling the daily tasks that you must perform to achieve it.

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4. Be realistic

Another fundamental piece of advice for positive autosuggestion to be useful to us is that we propose to meet realistic and achievable goals for ourselves, since It is useless for us to autosuggest ourselves to achieve goals that are out of our hands, such as the goal of becoming millionaires overnight or visualizing ourselves having won the lottery, since the latter is beyond our zone of influence.

On the other hand, we can set ourselves other goals that are attainable, such as passing our exams, being more successful in the professional field, lose a few kilos of body weight or improve our performance in a sport that we practice

Too It is important that we set small goals to gradually achieve them until step by step we get closer to the final goal.

5. Be consistent and stay motivated

positive autosuggestion it will only work if we are constant fulfilling the tasks that we must carry out for those goals that we have set for ourselves, since it is useless for us to repeat self-affirmations and visualize ourselves having fulfilled our purpose if we do not work to make it come true.

To maintain motivation, self-affirmation phrases and visualization in imagination can help us in the moments when we are most discouraged. We must also have a well-marked routine instead of improvising to achieve our challenges, since otherwise it will be easier for us to throw in the towel and get discouraged.

Keeping ourselves surrounded by people who support us and encourage us in our purpose can be of vital importance. for us to achieve that goal, especially if they are people who have already achieved it in the past or who are trying to achieve the same. In the latter case, companionship, based on mutual support, can be very important for both and will make the path to follow more bearable. Plus, you can always cheer each other on when one of you is down.

It is also essential to have healthy lifestyle habits (rest properly, eat healthily, exercise regularly, read, etc.), as this way we will feel more energetic to maintain that constancy. In addition, maintaining correct habits can facilitate the process towards our goal because if we have If our daily routine is well structured, it is easier for us to fulfill the tasks that we must to achieve that goal. objective.

7. Repeat the process whenever necessary

It is important that we repeat the entire process that positive autosuggestion entails as many times as we think necessary so that we can maintain it for a long time.

Even if we see it necessary, we can modify certain steps of the process when we see it convenient; such as self-affirmation phrases, since if we see that they have stopped working for us, we can look for new phrases that allow us to maintain our motivation and fulfill our objectives.

Distribution and perseverance are two fundamental pillars for positive autosuggestion, since for our goal to become a reality we must work for a long period of time. Thus, it is more useful that we work towards our goal for a short time each day, but that we do it daily, that we only work one day exhaustively, and then the rest we do nothing.

In this sense, it could be useful for us to repeat the self-affirmations to ourselves several times and do the visualization exercise in imagination every day. for at least 5-10 minutes, being able to divide that work time into 2 halves: one half in the morning when we get up and the other half before Go to sleep. This would be more convenient than doing these exercises for 1 hour only one day and then the rest of us do nothing.

When we perform these exercises on positive autosuggestion we must be relaxed and fully focused on what we are doing. Otherwise, it would be more difficult for the exercises to work.

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Example of a positive autosuggestion exercise

Next we are going to explain a brief positive autosuggestion exercise, applied to a person who intends to lose body weight.. To do this, the first thing you should do is set realistic goals, such as losing weight little by little and not 20 kilos at once. Nor should you resort to "miracle diets" or go too hungry, as this would end up giving up and gaining back more weight than you had lost.

Once realistic goals have been set (p. losing between 2 to 4 kilos a month approximately) and having established an affordable plan with a physical exercise routine suitable for that person (it could be a daily walk of just 30 minutes) and maintaining a healthy diet, being able to resort to the help of a nutritionist (basing your diet on healthy food such as vegetables, fruit or fish, among others; and avoiding fried foods, industrial pastries, etc.), is when we can start with the positive autosuggestion exercises.

To start with positive autosuggestion, we must develop a series of self-affirmations such as the following:

• “I am capable of achieving it.”
• “When I achieve it, I will have better health and I will feel better emotionally.”
• “I am a strong person.”
• "It's worth doing."
• "A small step every day, will be a big step in a while."

These phrases are only an example and can vary completely depending on each person. Are they must be personal and be consistent with what each person wants and what they consider can keep them motivated over time to achieve their purpose; which in this case would be to lose a few kilos of weight and stay in better health.

In the visualization exercise in imagination, we can imagine ourselves having managed to lose the weight we want, paying attention to all the details about how we feel when we have achieved it. It is important that both the self-statements and the visualization exercise are as realistic as possible, to the point that we believe that we can achieve it one day.

From here we must be constant when practicing the exercises related to positive self-affirmation (the self-affirmations and visualization in imagination), as well as with healthy lifestyle habits (proper rest, a healthy eating and a daily routine of physical exercise) so that we can maintain it over time to obtain the provided results.