I was talking with a client yesterday and we were discussing write-and-burns and what makes them effective. I shared my write-and-burn experience that I had earlier that morning with him. As we were discussing how to do an effective write-and-burn we started talking about what makes a write-and-burn so effective. This particular client has seen massive growth from doing affirmations, so I wanted to compare and contrast the differences between affirmations and write-and-burns. I initially told him that write-and-burns are the “opposite of affirmations” and he was immediately puzzled. He was thinking that the opposite of affirmations would be to tear yourself down, which is technically kind of what happens if you really think about it. (If you’re not familiar with a write-and-burn, it is a technique where you write down all of the negative thoughts you are having about yourself, then burn the paper.)
His question helped us explore the mechanics of the two processes and how they each work, so I shared the boat analogy. It’s a really cool analogy that helps convey the underlying mechanics. If you want to make a boat go faster, there are two approaches you can take. You can either increase the power or decrease the drag. Or obviously, you can do some combination of the two. Both will enable the boat to move faster through the water.
In this analogy, doing affirmations is like strapping a turbocharger to the engine of the boat. A turbocharger forces more air into the engine so that you get more a powerful explosion in the pistons, which means more power output. This will definitely make the boat go faster.
Write-and-burns take the opposite approach, which would be like reducing drag or resistance. A good example of reducing drag would be pulling up the anchor. Both are good options but could have very different impact levels depending on the current state of the boat.
So let’s say that you are ready to make your boat go faster, which approach should you choose?
I would suggest that rather than spending a whole bunch of time analyzing, just try them both and see which gives you the biggest return on your investment. My biggest recommendation is that you really dive in deep with whichever approach you try. Try and make your affirmations powerful by saying them out loud and involving as many of your senses as possible. Or don’t be afraid to write any of the garbage that comes to your head when doing the write-and-burn.
I hope this helps you see the value in both approaches, and I hope you give them a shot!
Thanks for showing up for you and for me today! You’re a good person!