What Are Affirmations and How To Use Them

I’m sure you’ve heard of affirmations before, but what exactly are they? How do they work and what are the benefits of affirmations?

In today’s post we’re digging deep into everything there is to know about affirmations, which I hope will give you the inspiration to create your own.

• What are affirmations
• The benefits of daily affirmations
• How do affirmations work?
• How to use affirmations 
• Examples of affirmations
• Writing your own affirmations

Want to add a little self love to your daily routine? Try affirmations... learn how affirmations can help you and how to best use them. #affirmations Share on X

What are Affirmations?

Affirmations are little phrases that we repeat to ourselves in order to make us feel better about ourselves and our situation.

I would define affirmations as positive statements, that we affirm about ourselves. They can be beliefs or thoughts that you repeat to yourself on a regular basis (ideally daily).

Affirmations can give you a boost and are a great reminder of how you truly feel about yourself.

Whether you choose to say them out loud, in your head or write them down, practicing daily affirmations can have wonderful benefits for you.

The Benefits of Using Daily Affirmations

1. Affirmations Help Change Your Inner Dialogue

Practicing positive affirmations on a daily basis can change how we speak to ourselves – which ultimately changes how we feel.

The result of this is we stop telling ourselves negative phrases like ‘you’re not good enough’ and change them into positive language – ‘You’ve totally got this. You are going to be proud of yourself today’.

Practicing positive #affirmations on a daily basis can change how we speak to ourselves - which ultimately changes how we feel. Share on X

2. Boost Your Confidence

As women, we are too good at beating ourselves up – over things that didn’t go our way, or not reaching our expectations in… motherhood, career, beauty, health, etc. 

We need to stop this thinking and instead give ourselves permission to not be perfect. 

Instead, let’s focus on building our self-confidence. This is crucial so we feel good about the effort we put into our lives. Affirmations can help us do this.

We can write affirmations that build confidence, saying things to ourselves like:

• I am strong
• I have confidence today and every day
• I will do a great job today

3. Affirmations Help You Stay on Track

If you have a goal, (losing weight for example), affirmations are a great tool to help you stay on track. 

We all know that with any goal we can fall off the rails, but getting back up and giving yourself encouragement with affirmations makes it much easier to reach your goal – and feel good about the process of getting there every day.

4. Affirmations Can Get You Through Tough Times

If you find yourself feeling down, practicing daily affirmations can be a wonderful way to support yourself – kind of like giving yourself a hug with words.

No matter what you might be going through you can use affirmations to help you get through.

Ask yourself – what do you need to hear right now?

Then, say these affirmations to yourself morning and night (and any other time you need support).

5. They Just Feel Good

Honestly, if for no other reason, affirmations make you feel really good.

Practicing daily affirmations can get you through moments of stress and even support when experiencing deeper anxiety.

At first, you might feel silly saying affirmations to yourself in the mirror but I promise the outcome is all that matters… feeling happy, grateful, confident, loved.

How do Affirmations Work?

According to the research mentioned in this article, from a psychological perspective affirmations actually work! (Pretty cool).

“There is MRI evidence suggesting that certain neural pathways are increased when people practice self-affirmation tasks”

More specifically…

“The ventromedial prefrontal cortex—involved in positive valuation and self-related information processing—becomes more active when we consider our personal values”. (Falk et al., 2015; Cascio et al., 2016).

So basically, when we recite affirmations our brains pick up on this.

This is definitely a great reason to give affirmations a try!

How to Use Affirmations

There are SO many ways you can use affirmations in your daily life.

Here is a list of ideas you can try.

• Recite them out loud – in front of the mirror, as you wake up in the morning, in your car
• Write down your affirmations – use a notebook, journal, post-it notes, your calendar
• Set up automated reminders on your phone so you get notified with an affirmation or multiple affirmations throughout the day
• Change the password on your computer to an affirmation you need to hear right now
• Use this printable affirmations worksheet to write your own affirmations.
• Get creative and draw or write an affirmation in your bullet journal

Do you use positive #affirmations to look after yourself? If so, what's your fave way to use them? Share on X

Examples of Positive Affirmations

I have the strength to get through this

I am strong and confident

I will conquer my goals today

I am a fun, creative person

I love the person I am

My happiness is a priority

I choose to see positivity in all things

I will attract good things in my life

I am worthy of beautiful life experiences

Today I am the master of my feelings

---

Find more here: 50 Positive Morning Affirmations for Success, Confidence & Happiness

---

How to Write Affirmations

Step 1: Think About What You Need Right Now

Time for self-care? Confidence? Strength to get through a challenging time?

Whatever it is that you need most in life today, focus on writing affirmations to support this.

Step 2. Just Write it Down

Get out a notebook and write anything down that comes to mind. Tell yourself what you need to hear. Keep writing and don’t stop.

Let all of your thoughts and feelings out.

You can write ‘I am’ affirmations such as, I am loved, I am enough, I am blessed.

You can also use phrases like:

• I deserve
• I have
• I choose
• I will

How you frame the affirmation doesn’t really matter – it’s the thought and intention behind the affirmation that counts.

Step 3. Review and Choose Affirmations

Go through your list and scribbles of affirmations you wrote and circle those that mean a lot to you.

Now you can write a master list in a place you can reference easily. A notebook or journal is perfect for this.

You can also check out my self love affirmations list and download a worksheet to give you some ideas and inspiration.

What are Affirmations: Conclusion

Using affirmations can help you focus on positive living and is a valuable tool to support your daily happiness and goals.

These little phrases have a great deal of meaning, so use them wisely and with intent. Affirmations really can be there for you and can help you have a positive outlook on life.

Have you tried Positive affirmations before? 

If yes, I’d love to know which affirmation you like to use! Share in the comments below to give us all inspiration.

Related Affirmations and Self Love Resources:

• 25 Positive Self Love Affirmations + PDF Worksheet
• 50 Mental Health Affirmations for Depression & Anxiety
• Love Yourself First: Daily Guided Journal
• The Importance of Self Love + 7 Exercises to Try
• 15 Ways to Be Intentional in Life

Share the love...