Affirmations are mentioned in the movie, "The Secret," they are encouraged by the most successful self-help guru Tony Robbins, and they were even famously used often by the boxer, Muhammed Ali - "I am the greatest!"

There are a few different kinds or ways to use Positive Affirmations for achieving your goals, manifesting your desires, and creating your reality.  One such technique is to pick a goal that you've set, such as improving your health and then come up with an affirmation that you like, such as "everyday in every way I'm getting better and better" (a classic example that was extremely successful for improving health).  You repeat this affirmation out loud and with your natural emotion toward your goal - say your affirmation as though you believe it and as though it's exciting that it's working for you just as you want!  Repeat your positive affirmation out loud several times (5-10) right after you wake up (either while you're still lying in bed or making breakfast or showering - whatever works for you), several times again (5-10) out loud right before bed, and anytime during the day that feels right to you - if you're feeling on top of the world and you get a chance to say your affirmation, do it, or if you're feeling down and you can say your affirmation, do it - both will help move you closer to your goal.  If your goal is to have more money, you would make some sort of affirmation like, "everyday I make more and more room in my life for wealth and happiness to flow to me."  Make it is concise as possible and if you can make your positive affirmation a catchy sort of jingle like "everyday in every way I'm getting better and better" it will be easier to remember and probably more exciting to say.  If you start out with one affirmation and in a few days you've thought of a better one, go ahead and change to the better one.  It's not that you have to say the same words again and again, it's that you have to believe the words you're saying.

Just like they say in "The Secret," affirmations are only effective if you say them with your own believable and believing emotion.  That  doesn't mean you have to believe it right away, but if you still don't believe your affirmations are doing anything after several days, pick a smaller goal to use affirmations on - one that you will find easier to believe and just as exciting that it's working.  Once you see how effective it is on smaller goals, work up to bigger goals and affirmations.