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“Affirmations are positive, specific statements that help you visualize, and believe in, what you’re affirming to yourself, helping you to make positive changes to your life”(Crawford, 2017). Positive affirmations can help us change our limiting beliefs and to start believing we are worthy enough to find the kind of person, job, or life we want once we are ready. “I am worthy enough,” “I am smart enough,” and “I am interesting enough” are just a few examples of positive affirmations. The following is a list you can follow to make positive affirmations work for you.
- Visualize the person you want to be.
- Write a list of the affirmations. What characteristics does it take to be that person you want to be? Is the person kind, firm, and confident? Write these down with an “I am” in front of it.
- Believe in what you’re telling yourself. “The most important thing about positive affirmations are [sic] that they have to be something a person believes. You can look at quotes, but the person has to actually believe what they are affirming themselves for,” said Dr. Matt Glowiak, a licensed clinical professional counselor (Maddocks, 2018). It has to resonate within you and talk to a specific part of you. If it doesn’t resonate with a part of you and you don’t believe in the positive affirmations you’re telling yourself you might feel worse, especially if you already suffer from low self-esteem (Wood, Perunovic, & Lee, 2009). One way to do this is to substitute positive thoughts for negative thoughts. To change negative thoughts, you can read my blog on Manifest Dreams: How to Change Your Negative Beliefs Now and on How to Challenge Your Self-Limiting Beliefs.
- Focus on your positive characteristics. As you are writing the list down, think of times when you were kind like when you open the door for the person behind you, encourage your loved ones when they are feeling down, etc. “If you believe it and other people are affirming it, you realize that you are a kind person. You may do good things all the time that you don’t think of – hold open the door, smile, lend someone a phone to make a call –and not realize what you are doing is something positive” (Maddock, 2018).
- Find opportunities in your life to display the characteristics in your list of positive affirmations. This is important because it starts building a proof portfolio that helps you believe in the positive affirmations even more. It may feel awkward at first, like putting on a coat that’s too big. But if you keep telling yourself the truth, it will eventually fit, and you’ll get more comfortable with it” (Flynn, 2019).
References
Flynn, B. (2019, May 28). Revise Your Beliefs. Retrieved from OSU Leadership Center: College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences: https://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/blog/tue-05282019-515am/revise-your-beliefs
Joanne V. Wood, W. E. (2009). Positive Self-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others. Psychological Science, 20 (7), 860-866.
Maddocks, K. G. (2018, November 20). How to Stay Positive – Affirmations for Success. Retrieved from Southern New Hampshire University: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/education/how-to-stay-positive-affirmations-for-success
