I was probably 14 when my father was studying Émile Coué, a French pharmacist who developed a theory known as Couéism: “Conscious Autosuggestion”. He sat us down one day and said, “I just learned this great way to stay healthy.” Then, we all laid on the living room floor, and he took us through Progressive muscle relaxation. We repeated multiple times:
Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.
Interestingly, when I was looking for information on Couéism, I found that line used in the 1976 Pink Panther movie. Inspector Clouesau drives his superior, Inspector Dreyfus, insane. Clouseau visits Dreyfus in a mental institution and asks how he is doing? Dreyfus, after Clouseau’s bungling says, Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.
John Lennon wrote Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy), 1980, another nod to Couéism.
“Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy,
Before you go to sleep,
Say a little prayer,
Every day in every way,
It’s getting better and better.”
What did they know that we don’t?
Self-affirmation and responses to health messages: a meta-analysis on intentions and behavior, Sweeney AM, Moyer A. Self-affirmation and responses to health messages: a meta-analysis on intentions and behavior. Health Psychol. 2015 Feb;34(2):149-59. doi: 10.1037/hea0000110. Epub 2014 Aug 4. PMID: 25089345.
This journal article discussed how positive thoughts and affirmations resulted in positive outcomes.
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