Positive affirmations can be incredible sources of power and encouragement for ourselves. Learning how to use them in a way that feels authentic to us can be tricky at first. Here are 8 easy ways to incorporate the power of positive affirmations in your life:
1. Daily intentions/mantras
It can be super powerful to set a word/phrase of affirmation or intention for the day. You can return to these words throughout the day for centering, strength, and/or encouragement.
It can be as simple as adding I am in front of however you’d like to feel. I am calm. I am capable. I am worthy. I am strong.
When challenges arise, you can return to your intention/mantra to provide peace and clarity. This can help you calm and ground before taking action and ensure your next steps are in line with who you want to be and the attitude you are cultivating.
We even have a lovely worksheet in all our social and emotional learning units to help you set and reflect on your intention for the day. It’s great for learners and educators alike 🙂
2. Guided meditations
There are lots of options for guided meditations utilizing the power of positive affirmations. Try some out.
Think of it like ordering takeout for dinner. Figure out what you’re in the mood for and pick out the meditation that best matches up to that flavor.
Know that not all meditations might be delicious to you and that’s totally fine. It’s good to figure out the flavors you like the best.
Some wonderful options to try are:
- 11 min Positive Life Affirmations from Honest Guys
- 3 min Affirmations Wake Up Mediation
- 10 min I Am Positive Affirmations
- 8 hours of Affirmations While You Sleep from Honest Guys
- 3 min You Are Amazing! Meditation
If meditating is new to you, that’s totally okay. We recommend checking out this blog to help support you as you get started trying out what kinds of meditations work best for you 🙂
3. To combat negative programming
We all have negative things or stories we tell ourselves that we would like to stop or shift to something more positive. Perhaps society has given us the impression that we have to look or act a certain way.
Affirmations can help us release and/or transform some of those negative messages we have received, so that’s no longer the story we are telling ourselves. We can replace those negatives with more encouraging, positive, and validating messages.
Sometimes it can be as simple as adding a “What If” in front of those negative thoughts. After you try that for a while, perhaps you have some go-to affirmations to counteract any creeping negative thoughts or ideas.
4. Building confidence
You are absolutely incredible! You deserve to feel confident and powerful in who you are.
Affirmations can definitely help to fuel your confidence. Simple, yet powerful I am statements are a great place to start.
Be creative. I realized that every time I looked in the mirror I would criticize myself.
So, I significantly reduced the number of times I looked in the mirror during the day. I also added in some go-to affirmations for when those critical thoughts crept in.
Some of my favorites are: I am beautiful, capable, and resilient. I am more than enough just as I am, just who I am. But feel free to experiment and figure out what feels most authentic and empowering to you.
5. Manifestation
Manifesting is a lot like setting goals. The main difference is that you talk/think about it as if it is already happening.
Affirmations are a great tool for manifestation. Think about what you would like more of in your life.
Maybe you’d even like to make a list. Writing down can also help with manifestation, but it’s totally up to you and what feels right for you.
Once you have your list/ideas, now is the perfect moment to get some affirmations into play. You can focus on one item or work on manifesting as many things as you’d like.
Want more abundance in your life? Perhaps try one of these affirmations for abundance:
- Abundance is coming into my life.
- I am grateful for the abundance that is already in my life and the abundance that is coming to me.
- I deserve great things.
- Good things are coming into my life.
- I deserve abundance.
You can create your own versions of these affirmation options for whatever idea/feeling/perspective/thing you’d like to manifest. There’s no right or wrong way to write these affirmations.
Maybe you’d also like to write some of these affirmations down and display them somewhere to encourage you in your manifestation journey. Try to embrace these affirmations as if they are already true for you.
The other trick is to practice gratitude for them. Even more on that below 🙂
6. Gratitude
You’re thanking the universe for all the abundance in your life which in turn invites (and works to manifest) even more abundance and gratitude for you. Think of gratitude practice as positive reinforcement to the universe of the positives in your life.
Whatever you enjoy and would like more of, positively reinforce with gratitude. Being thankful feels nice and encourages more positives to come to you.
Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be one size fits all. Make sure your gratitude practice and affirmations suit you and your needs.
It can be as simple as stopping to appreciate those positive and joyful moments as they unfold. Perhaps you like to make lists of what you are grateful for.
You can use affirmations in your gratitude practice. I am grateful for ________.
Giving thanks and expressing gratitude can feel awkward at first. That’s totally okay.
Keep practicing it in ways that feel most comfortable to you. It will get easier, the more you do it.
7. Reducing stress
Affirmations can help center us and bring us out of anxiety/stress spirals. If you are prone to anxiety like I am, I recommend spending some time thinking about affirmations that help you feel powerful, grounded, and worthy.
It can be super helpful to have already thought of them to have them on hand when anxious moments strike. That way, you’re not feeling anxious AND trying to come up with affirmations at the same time.
Some of my favorites are: I am worthy. I am capable. I am strong. I am resilient.
However, I feel right now is okay. I am more than enough just as I am, just who I am.
It’s okay if they don’t always work. It’s okay if some work better than others.
Reflect on what works for you most of the time. Keep those in your mind.
The more you utilize the power of affirmations, the easier it becomes. Celebrate your small victories.
Did an affirmation help reduce your anxiety a little bit? That’s wonderful!
Celebrate it! Feel proud of your hard work and dedication.
This helps encourage and give even more power to your affirmations. It works like building confidence and manifestation; it just has a different focus.
8. Setting an intention for restful sleep
Have you ever set an intention for your day or your yoga class? This is the same idea.
You set a positive idea/feeling you’d like from your sleep time that night or what you want tomorrow to hold. It can be as simple as: I want to wake refreshed. Or Tomorrow, I will focus on the positives of my day.
Or you can get real funky with it and set sleep intentions for healing and stress release. (Full disclosure: these funkier intentions while powerful may not be as restful.)
These can also be silly like I will poop tomorrow. No judgment here. Make these sleep intentions whatever you want or need.
Affirmations are meant to work for you. Use them in whatever ways feel right in the moment and will help you cultivate the most incredible, authentic life.
You absolutely deserve it! 🙂