How Affirmations Rewire Your Brain for Lasting Transformation & Fulfillment (Part 1)

By using affirmations regularly, you can rewire your brain to cultivate optimism, courage, resilience, and self-empowerment. 

These simple yet impactful statements have the potential to shift your perspective and pave the way for personal growth and your most flavorful, fulfilled life. Not to mention the boost in confidence and decrease in stress that you’ll see if you stick to them.

Today we’re talking about the evidence-based practice of affirmations, the benefits, and how the work works.

0:47 Introduction

3:35 The Power of Affirmations

8:58 Exciting Affirmation News

9:50 Health Benefits of Affirmations

17:47 Understanding the Neuroscience

22:02 The Psychology Behind Affirmations

32:05 Unlocking Your Potential

Whether you're a skeptic or a seasoned advocate, I invite you to lean in and experience the potential of affirmations to orchestrate a life of harmony and purpose.

And for those eager to continue this journey, our upcoming mental wellness training, Ignite, is crafted to deepen your holistic mental wellness practice even further.

How to Work Together

• Free Training! 🔥 Ignite Your Holistic Mental Wellness Transformation
• Join Calibrate 🧬 Become Your Own Medicine by Harnessing the Power of Your DNA & Daily Choices for Optimal Health & Mental Wellness (50% off on pre-sale now!!)
• ✨ Book Your Mental Wellness Breakthrough session! This is for courageous folks who are ready to ditch the physical and mental health symptoms, take their life back, and embody their most flavorful, fulfilled life. (New Client Session)

Links & Resources

• Join the Community & Dive Deeper on the Unforked Newsletter (This is where you sign up to receive my potent AF affirmations & more!)
• More Resources & Holistic Wellness Services
• Full Episode Shownotes & Transcripts

Thank you to YOU, the listener, for being here on this journey together.


With a full heart (but always room for a slice of pizza),

Haley Schroth, RDN, LD, CPT, RYT, CMWC | Founder & Integrative Mental Wellness Coach

Transcript

Haley: 0:03

Howdy friend. Welcome to Unforged, an unfiltered holistic nutrition and mental wellness podcast for evolving folks that crave a delicious life of fulfillment. Haley, here I am, your host, a trauma-informed functional medicine dietitian, holistic mental wellness coach and the founder of the Fulfilled Fork. On this show we dish up insights and activations while learning about sustainable mind, body, soul lifestyle practices. It's sweet, it's savory and it'll spice up your life. To stay connected, make sure you sign up for our unforked email list at thefulfilledforkcom. Forward slash links. Let's dig into the episode. Thefulfilledforkcom. Forward slash links. Let's dig into the episode. Welcome back to the podcast, my friend. If you are new here, also welcome. I'm so glad you are here.

Haley: 0:57

Today. We are going to talk about affirmations I had. I'm going to tell you a little bit about why we're talking about affirmations first. So I think it was on Saturday. You know I'm like writing the emails, I'm doing the things. Yes, I was working on a Saturday. I was having a blast. It was such a great day. Anyway, maybe you heard my dog Badger just shaking and making noise. Not sure if that'll show up in the final cut, but if it did, welcome him. Okay.

Haley: 1:29

So the affirmations on Saturday I was writing an email and all of a sudden I had this. See, I'm going to sound like a nutcase here. I had a weird idea, and I say weird because it came out of nowhere. It literally was just like Haley, I think you need to write affirmations for your community and I think you need to send them out weekly. And I was like that feels really right. I had nothing else to say about it. It felt incredibly resonant and I don't know why, but I'll find out once I start sending them. I mean, as far as, like, I don't know, I don't know how you all are going to resonate with them until I start sending them out. They're so resonant for me, which is why we are talking about them today. So affirmations changed my fucking life. I am not exaggerating when I say that.

Haley: 2:34

So, from overcoming any unhealthy and, dare I say, toxic relationships toxic relationships to perfectionism, procrastination I have even used affirmations to anchor in these higher levels of self-leadership and self-trust. I've used them for all kinds of things. They're incredible, incredible. I know some people don't resonate with them as a tool, and that is fine. If you're like Haley, I don't resonate with affirm as a tool, and that is fine If this, if you're like Haley, I don't resonate with affirmations. Fine, okay, that's great, but I only want you to say that once you've tried it and once you've given them, I'm gonna say like six months to a year, that's, that's the timeframe in which I think that you need to let them depending I mean, it's so dependent on the person they can work really quickly. It can take months and months and months to notice a shift. Yeah, so it really depends on the person. We'll get into all that stuff a little bit later.

Haley: 3:42

The affirmations helped me through, like I said, all the toxic things right, and literally helped me through my darkest days, my absolute darkest days. What I would do to help me like ground and feel okay and not even just feel okay sometimes, but it would literally lift my spirits it was affirmations and I would put them on repeat and just listen to them for hours. Now, that was in my desperately dark times, so I'm not saying you have to do them for hours every day, all the time, whatever. That just that's just how I uh, at one point in my journey, had used them, uh, when I think that was when I went through a breakup and it was a really gnarly one, really gnarly. So I was like I need to change something about my state of being right now and clearly how I am relating to others in terms of, like, my worthiness, etc. Etc. So, again, I've used them for all kinds of things and I want to bring this my brain wants to technology. It's literally, it's not a technology this magic to you, because I sure as shit did not believe in affirmations.

Haley: 5:15

If, if somebody had told me when I was younger that, like maybe a little high school Haley, somebody had told me that affirmations were something that I was going to be doing in my life, I would have been like are you fucking nuts? That sounds stupid. What kind of woo-woo shit is this? So if you're in that camp, it's okay, but I encourage you to dive into this episode with an open mind, an open heart, and perhaps you will be inspired to give them a try yourself. Or, if you used to use them and haven't, in a while maybe you'll pick it up again. Yeah, it doesn't have to be like a perfect practice. I do this every single day. It's a tool that we reach for when we want to or need to right.

Haley: 6:08

So we're going to talk about the science, and not only have the affirmations helped me through the darkest days of my life, but they have also been something like I said that I keep coming back to, literally after I've been using them for probably over 10 years. Sounds wild when I say that, because, yes, the neuroplasticity is real. I keep seeing results from them and it speeds up my transformation and growth and a bonus one it brings a lot more ease into my life. It just it does. It helps my mental health. The benefits are endless. We'll talk about some of the benefits today.

Haley: 6:56

Okay, before we dive into the affirmations, I do want to let you know and invite you to my new holistic mental wellness training, which has a name now, if you know from last episodes I didn't have a name for it it is Ignite Ignite, your holistic mental wellness. So if you would like to join the free training, I'm considering doing a live option for it. So let me know if you're interested in being a part of the live experience that then people watch the recording of, not that you will be recorded but, like you, can participate in the chat and interact and help make it a really amazing, special experience and perhaps get some questions answered literally live. Yeah, I would invite you to sign up for the free training. You can head to the show notes to sign up for Ignite and you can also find it on my website In multiple places. There's on the navigation bar. It literally says free training, so you can't miss it. Go sign up for the free training. I cannot wait to see you there. It'll be so exciting. I am honestly, I'm just stoked for it. I cannot, I just can't wait. I can't wait to see you guys there.

Haley: 8:23

Okay, so we're going to talk about the benefits of affirmations. We are also going to talk about the neuroscience of affirmations and a little bit about the psychology of affirmations, and then I'm going to leave you hang in there for a part two. Part two we're going to talk more about creating effective affirmations, maybe some FAQs in there and, yeah, really just diving into the more of the how about the affirmations. And one last thing before we get into the episode, because I forgot to mention it earlier True, unfiltered fashion here I also will be sending those emails that I mentioned out about affirmations. So if you would like to get on the list for these potent as fuck affirmations, please sign up for that newsletter. I cannot wait for these. I already have a list and I just can't wait. I can't wait. Yeah, I envision in the future I will be creating affirmation videos, audio, those sort of things too. So I'd love to hear from you. Let me know if you're interested in that sort of stuff after you hear the episode. Wonderful, now we're actually going to start the episode. So we're going to talk about the evidence of affirmations this chat, part one, and then we're going to talk about how to incorporate them into your routine on the next chat.

Haley: 10:02

All right, so first, the benefits of affirmations. There's a lot, like I mentioned in my story, some of the affirmations, that some of the benefits of affirmations that I've seen personally, but you may be different. So a couple of the affirmation benefits one would be enhanced self-confidence. Two, improved mental health. Three, better motivation. And four is fostering that growth mindset and building better resilience. So we'll dive into the self-confidence piece first.

Haley: 10:38

Affirmations can be a very uplifting reminder, one of our worth, two of our capabilities, and it can really enhance our self-esteem and thus build more self-confidence If we are repeating either positive or neutral affirmations. I emphasize neutral. We'll talk about that in a minute. But when we are consistently repeating these affirmations, we are rewiring our brains to focus on our strengths and even if it's not a strength yet, it can help us integrate that strength or integrate the affirmation to becoming a strength, right, so it can. The affirmation can be something that you are already strong at and perhaps you want to get better at right, or deepen or go take it to the next level, as I mentioned. And it can also be something that you perceive that you don't have, for example, and with that it's a, yet it's a, yet you don't have it yet. Or you don't feel embodied in it yet. It's not a never, it's a yet Okay. It's not a never, it's a yet Okay. So we're rewiring our brains and we're focusing on those strengths that we either have, are strengthening and deepening or are working on building.

Haley: 12:20

The next one is improved mental health. So when we have our regular practice of affirmations right, regular practice being the emphasis, I cannot emphasize that enough Then the affirmations can really improve our mental health. So, again, there's that positive mindset, because we are replacing that negative self-talk with those empowering affirmations. Or, like I mentioned, we are neutralizing and finding new I'm saying neutral because toxic positivity is a real thing Like if you don't believe in the thing or if you don't feel resonance with it, then it's not going to be as effective for you, right? And it actually might not be effective at all if you're like this is bullshit. I don't resonate with this at all. So that's why, when we talk more about how to incorporate it, we need to make sure they are resonating with us, any of the affirmations that we are saying, because it's literally rewiring your thoughts. Rewiring your thoughts, right, okay. So when we replace our negative thoughts with those positive or neutral affirmations that are empowering, we can greatly reduce our anxiety, helps alleviate stress and absolutely helps cultivate that inner sense of peace. I cannot tell you how much peace I have found from using affirmations. So much peace. It helps me be like neutral when I'm in a reactive state. It can help bring me back into my like rest and digest state of being we're talking like nervous system regulation here, versus being in that really active fight or flight state Wonderful.

Haley: 14:17

Next one is better motivation. So I say better motivation because it is a tool that can help us be inspired. It can help empower us to go for our goals and to continue pursuing our intentions. It's not going to be like the only motivator, like. You get what I mean, okay, there's many other factors that can be motivations, right, affirmations can be one of those tools. So, again, we're reinforcing those beliefs in our abilities for success, for fulfillment, for whatever, even if it's like a very specific goal. We're reinforcing our beliefs, okay, and that helps us ignite or reignite our motivation and drive. So it helps us stay focused, it helps us stay committed, it helps us stay devoted to our dreams, goals, intentions, desires.

Haley: 15:26

Next up, we have fostering that growth mindset and building resilience. So when we're embracing and using affirmations, it helps bring us into the growth mindset, which is that growth mindset is, for example, somebody who believes that they can become a better reader Say they're not a great reader or they're not a great writer. The growth mindset is like oh, I can become a better reader or writer. It might take me work and effort and I'll have challenges and blah, blah, blah, but they know that they have the potential to grow in that area. A fixed mindset is the opposite, like I'm a bad reader, I'm a bad writer, and they literally never give themselves a chance for growth. None, none, because this is a story and I'm sticking to the story and I'm very rigid in it. And this for me. I used to think that I was bad at speaking. Here I am with a podcast, okay, so do not give up. Okay, affirmations can definitely help you with that growth mindset.

Haley: 16:46

So what was exemplified in those examples was the seeing of challenges as opportunities for learning and growth, right? So if we are affirming our growth mindset, we can also be affirming our resilience. We are helping ourselves overcome obstacles and creating that, the mindset that really thrives on adversity, and you will then see setbacks or challenges as not setbacks but stepping stones to succeeding in whatever it is that you are doing or going towards. So those are our benefits was the fostering growth mindset and resilience, our better motivation, improved mental health and that enhanced self-confidence. So now we're going to dive into the neuroscience. So what does it do? The uh, if you've been around, you know I'm a nerd. Okay, no, I'm a nerd. I really like science. I just I just go off the deep end a lot of times into science, um, which isn't a bad thing.

Haley: 18:11

So when we're looking at the evidence of how affirmations work, neuroplasticity is key. It is a key player for helping those affirmations or not helping, but literally why the affirmations actually work in our brains, why they actually work to shape our thoughts and behaviors, so that neuroplasticity is rewiring our brain and this can happen throughout our entire lifetimes. Is this rewiring? So our brains are forming new neural connections and pathways. New neural connections and pathways, so that is, the literal neurons in your brain are forming new connections between each other. It's learning. It's learning, it is an activity that keeps your brain healthy.

Haley: 19:05

So, side note, when I'm thinking about folks who have a higher risk of, like Alzheimer's, dementia, just general cognitive decline because of higher afflame oh my gosh words higher inflammation, I was trying to combine affirmations and inflammation Doesn't work that way. So if we have that higher inflammation in our brain, our brain cells can actually be like degenerating and we want to be able to form those new connections. We want to be able to strengthen our brain's ability, and one way we can do that is learning and doing activities that increase our neuroplasticity. So affirmations you heard it here can help keep your brain healthy and strong and forming those new connections, especially as we age Like it's important for everybody, and everyone is aging, I might add. Okay, so when we are consistently repeating our affirmations, we are reprogramming our brains and creating new pathways, new perspectives, new ways of being. Yes, you heard it here, you heard me. We can actively participate in shaping the pathways in our brain and this fosters that optimistic and empowered way of thinking.

Haley: 20:39

Incredible, like I could stop here, that's enough. That's enough for me, okay, but we're not going to stop there. We're going to talk about the limbic system. So we're going to talk about emotions and behavior. So, of course, about the limbic system. So we're going to talk about emotions and behavior. So, of course, we talked about how affirmations impact our brain's neural pathways, so that neuroplasticity and the affirmations also play a really big role in regulating our emotions, and that happens through our limbic system and this is the emotional center in the brain. So if you recall my story about when I was going through a really rough breakup and I reached for these affirmations, these videos of affirmations or audios, and I was just listening to them multiple times a day, sometimes for like hours on repeat, just in the background while I was working, because it helped regulate me, it helped me feel good, it helped me feel okay, even in some instances. So by using affirmations, we can absolutely stimulate the release of those neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and of course, those are associated with our positive emotions and overall well-being. So the affirmations can help us manage our stress, boost our mood and again cultivate that more resilient and perhaps positive outlook on life. All right, let's. Hi, badger, thank you for the licks.

Haley: 22:06

We're going to dive into the psychology of affirmations now. So affirmations are super powerful tools, as we have discussed, and they're also rooted in our self-talk, of course, even if you're not literally saying them out loud, like we are talking to ourselves constantly in our heads. I can't remember the statistic out there about how much we talk to ourselves and how much of that is negative versus positive. I don't think we talk to ourselves and how much of that is negative versus positive. I don't think we need to go to statistics right now, but it's a lot and there's usually a lot more negative than positive for people, and so we want to rewrite those negative stories and negative beliefs and negative things that we have picked up from our society, our families, our friends ourselves, we, movies, media. We pick up all kinds of things from all places, right? So we're going to look at the psychology and talk a little bit about why these affirmations are so effective in shaping our mindset and also, again, boosting our confidence. You've heard me mention the self-talk a couple of times during this episode. So that's our internal dialogue, like I mentioned, with how much is positive versus negative, and it's usually negative for most people. This self-talk plays a huge role in our mental health and overall well-being.

Haley: 23:44

I personally have gone through an insane journey. I used to be so negative, insane journey. I used to be so negative, so so, so negative. I had an ex-boyfriend tell me he mentioned something about my negativity and that was like the first time somebody had outwardly said it to me and I was like, oh, I'm not that negative. I was like I was like, oh, I'm not that negative. I was like reactive to the statement. My ego was a little bit hurt by that. So I remember also a time when I was in middle school I was in Las Vegas on a family trip. I was talking to my cousin and I don't remember we were like waiting in line for the roller coaster at New York, new York. All I remember saying was something about how it was better for me to always think of negative outcomes and expect the negative outcomes, because then at least if something positive happened, it would be like a surprise. How horrible, that's, how bad it was when I was really young, really young, okay, I think I was like 13, maybe 14. Yeah, it's just.

Haley: 25:08

It's one of those things that can be. It can be very much influenced by the people around us, the society, all those things highly. Highly believe that a lot of us get these from, these beliefs and ways of thinking from our family, because that's where we spend most of our time. Right, and it's not saying anything bad or negative about anybody's families if they are primarily negative thinkers. It's probably something that's been passed down generation to generation, from trauma, hardship, all the things. So, yeah, I'm not knocking families by any means, for well, they made me negative. No, we're not thinking like that. That is not helpful around here.

Haley: 26:10

Okay, so, with the negative self-talk, I do want to mention one more thing too. I remember this was in mid-20s, I think I was maybe 20, 25, 26, and it just hit me one day how I had never I didn't know it was possible to feel any different internally. And I remember the moment where I was like, oh my God, I'm a different person, I am not that negative person anymore and people. So I had moved to a new place and people were like actually telling me when I would tell them the story. They're like, haley, I never would have thought that about you, ever, ever Like I can't even imagine a world where you were, where you were super negative. And so that's how I know that this work works.

Haley: 27:13

Affirmations work All right, so that negative self-talk clearly can limit our potential, limit our possibilities in life. It leads to that self-doubt, leads to the low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, all the things that I had. Definitely Affirmations can help act as a counterbalance to those negative thoughts, because it's not that we're going to eradicate all negative thoughts by doing affirmations. No, I still have negative thoughts and what happens is that we practice mindfulness. I notice those negative thoughts and sometimes they're not always conscious to me, right? Sometimes I don't notice them until somebody points them out and that's amazing. And I am open to somebody saying Haley, that one's a pretty, that was pretty negative. So that's part of that resilience and part of that growth mindset. So it's not an all or nothing thing. It's not that we'll never have a negative thought again. It is reinforcing the neutrality, it's reinforcing the positivity, it's reinforcing the growth-minded aspects of ourselves. That's what affirmations do. It helps us rewrite those negative stories, reframe those negative beliefs, and you wouldn't believe how much you fucking change in the best way and how different you feel. It's incredible.

Haley: 28:53

Next, with the psychology piece, I have mentioned repetition a couple of times and I said we'd talk about it. So here we go. Repetition is key, just like when we're forming any new habit, we have to do it again and again. It's like when I learned how to ride my bicycle and if you know how to ride a bike, you did the same thing. You had to practice again and again and again to start seeing the benefit of riding a bike, which is oh my gosh, I can get somewhere on this bike, I have fun on this bike, or I believe that I can ride a bike Because you did it over and over and over again, and riding a bike is a great example also of that neuroplasticity. So like you were forming a new habit where you didn't know how to ride a bike at one point and then you repeated the process and then all of a sudden, your brain has new neural connections and those new neural connections then form that muscle memory, right. And so, even if you forget how to ride a bike forget in quotes, right. And if you don't ride a bike for a long time. Chances are you didn't forget how to ride a bike. You, your body remembers, it's stored, your body remembers, and that shows just how powerful the neuroplasticity can be and just how powerful that repetition is. We are reinforcing those neural pathways in our brain. We're making it so much easier to adopt a more resilient and mindful mindset over time.

Haley: 30:40

When we practice the affirmations consistently. It's strengthening the impact of the affirmations, of whatever content is in the affirmation or affirmations, on our subconscious mind. So that's what's transforming our inner dialogue and that is what is giving us those benefits of the better mental health, better self-confidence and all of those things. So when we incorporate these affirmations into our daily routine, it leads to super profound changes in how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. When we embrace the psychology and neuroscience of affirmations, it helps us unlock that potential of the affirmations. So now that I know, or now that you know, that the affirmations work based on logic because sometimes we need to be opened up to things from logic that's when we can unlock that potential of ourselves, our fullest potential. We can cultivate that grounded mindset in not even full potential, but our limitless potential and self-belief.

Haley: 32:06

Wow, if you are not just turned on to affirmations right now as much as I am, then I don't know what's going to do it for you. I don't know what's going to do it for you. I well, maybe the email list. Maybe the email list will do it for you. If you, if you get in the groove and you find some affirmations that that you like, um, from the Unforged email and my newsletter, that might do it for you. So sign up for that newsletter.

Haley: 32:39

I will have affirmations sent to you at least weekly, maybe sometimes more. I want you to have these as tools in your back pocket. I want it to pop into your inbox in the morning so that you can check it out and say, oh my gosh, I'm going to use this this week. This is going to be, this is going to be a great one. Or maybe you tweak it. Maybe you tweak it for yourself. You say that's not quite resonant with me, so I'm going to tweak it, and that's welcome too. You're welcome to use the affirmations however best suits you.

Haley: 33:17

I would love to see you on the email list. I would absolutely love to see you in Ignite. Oh my gosh, I yeah, I'm just so excited. I can't wait to see you there. If you are interested in signing up for coaching with me, go ahead and book that support call with me. Shoot me an email and we can chat about what your needs are and the best fit in my world for you. Otherwise, I hope you have a phenomenal day today and I will see you next time on the podcast or even sooner in that email list. See you later, my friend. Thank you for listening to Unforged. You can find all resources and links from this episode in the show notes at thefulfilledforkcom forward slash podcast. If you enjoyed the episode, we'd love if you'd send it to a friend and rate and review the show on either Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Then email us a screenshot of your review to howdyatthefulfilledforkcom for a one-time credit to use towards our wellness services at the Fulfilled Fork Chat soon.