What are Positive Affirmations?
Positive Affirmations are statements that you can say in your head or verbally to validate, confirm, and build yourself up.
You may have read affirmations before that look like.
I am getting better and better every day.
I am enough.
I deserve to be loved.
It is okay to make mistakes.
How do they help?
Engaging in positive affirmations exercises triggers the brain’s reward center. This activation produces a similar experience to other circumstances that you enjoy. Practicing positive affirmations additionally activates parts of the brain that evoke happiness and optimism.
Positive affirmations combat negative self-talk, self-doubt, and stress. Positive affirmations can restore self-competence by allowing individuals to reflect on sources of self-worth, such as their core values.
The use of Positive Affirmations can expand a person’s viewpoint and reduce the impact of negative emotions.
Tips for Creating a Positive Affirmation
- Make it positive
- Keep it brief
- Use present tense
- Make affirmations for yourself, not for others
- Affirm what you want–not what you don’t want
It can also be helpful to add these strategies, but they are not entirely necessary
- Start with the words “I am.. “
- Use an action word ending with “–ing”
- Include one emotion or feeling word
Tools:
Mobile Apps like I am
Resources:
Do Positive Affirmations Work? What Experts Say
How to make self-affirmations work, based on science – The Washington Post
Let’s decode the science behind affirmations and how they can infuse positivity into your life
Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation
