Sep 17 2007
Affirmations and Intentions: Does Tense Matter?
You may have heard that you should always use present tense when you say affirmations or intentions. So instead of saying, “I will attract amazing opportunities today,” you should word it, “I am attracting amazing opportunities today,” or “I always attract amazing opportunities.”
Is this really important? Does tense matter?
Personally, I think it matters only if YOU think it matters. How’s that for a vague answer? LOL
Here’s why I think that:
When you recite an affirmation or state an intention, you are injecting your own unique beliefs and expectations into the mix. The words themselves don’t really matter - except that they put a specific picture in your mind and set you up for a specific expectation.
So the short answer would be, word them in a way that makes it easier for you to believe them.
Some people really do find it helpful to put them in present tense. Some people find it helpful to word them in a way that emphasizes a process instead of an end result. (Like, “I am becoming stronger and healthier every day.”)
If that works for you, go for it! If not, don’t feel that you have to do it that way.
Personally, I use future tense in my affirmations and intentions all the time and they still work fine. I’ll say things like, “Today I will remember to be alert to great opportunities that cross my path,” or “Today I will attract massive abundance in all forms,” and so on.
The bottom line is, whatever you believe and expect to see is what you’ll get - no matter how you word it.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
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VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Law of Attraction: Step by Step
Using the Law of Attraction successfully is all about learning how to create your experiences by altering the "frequency" you send out to the universe. This frequency is a mixture of the content of your thoughts, emotions, beliefs and expectations. All of these things must be aligned in order to use the process effectively or you will probably see mixed results. Read more
3 responses so far

Wendy Betterini has spent much of her writing career empowering people to transform their lives by changing their thoughts. All change begins within.
Great blog, Wendy! I agree that it is most important to believe in what you are saying. I find feeling how it will be to have what I want is most effective for me.
thanks Mary! I so agree, the feelings are the most powerful of all.
Wendy
Uh oh. I felt for a minute like I was back in my high school English class. Thanks for the great post.