The Only 10 Positive Affirmations You Need To Change Your Life This Year
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There’s a good chance you’ve heard the term ‘positive affirmations’ before. It’s a hot topic from health gurus to TED Talks – that the very act of speaking positive things can have an immensely beneficial impact in your life.
It sounds too good to be true, but optimism is good for your health and increasing daily positivity has a very genuine effect.
Be that as it may, the positive affirmations you choose to utilize have everything to do with their effectiveness in your life.
Telling yourself idyllic impossibilities, no matter how positive, will never manifest real change in your life.
The most important component of a positive affirmation is honesty used to affirm the good, accept the challenging, and paint a hopeful picture (based on what’s genuinely possible) of your future.
The following list of affirmations may be customized to apply to your specific life situation, and each represents a good example of the type of affirmations that represent a healthy dose of both honesty and optimism – the perfect blend to improve your outlook and ultimately change your life!
10 Positive Affirmations to Change Your Life
1. “I am capable of making healthy decisions for my future.”
If you’re someone who has a small arsenal of unhealthy habits, the prospect of changing them can seem overwhelming.
Whether it’s drinking too much caffeine during the work week, stopping for fast food too often, or needlessly spending too much money, we tend to develop undesirable habits and stick to them out of our unhealthy desires or convenience.
One of the first steps to tackling bad habits is simply acknowledging that you can.
Instead of ignoring these daily missteps, or berating yourself for not changing more easily, start the day by reminding yourself that you can make better decisions.
Affirm that you acknowledge the need for a healthy future, and your own capability of making these changes.
Approaching the day with an ‘I think I can’ mentality will do wonders, and put you in the right frame of mind to begin eliminating habits that are undesirable to you.
2. “It is okay to need a break.”
This affirmation is not one you’ll likely need daily, but should remember for those periods of time when you’re spread too thin, working too hard, and running on empty.
It’s normal these days to feel like you have to be superwoman – take care of your home and family, develop your career, have a fulfilling social life, and maintain a steady flow of hobbies.
But running full speed all the time doesn’t work, no matter how motivated or successful you are.
In moments you undoubtedly feel the need to recharge, give yourself the space to do so.
Remind yourself that stepping back and slowing down, even for a day, can actually help you be more productive.
3. “I have the confidence to succeed at this.”
This affirmation is useful both daily and before an important event such as a job interview or date.
The trick to affirming your confidence is to acknowledge the natural capacity for success within yourself, without making huge promises that you can’t keep.
DON’T BE DISHONEST AND NOT MAKE COMPARISONS.
Saying things like “I am the most confident woman in the world” or “I am the best-looking woman on the planet” can actually have long-term negative effects.
First of all, neither of those statements are actually true, and they are based in comparison (competition) with others.
Don’t root your confidence in lessening the value of others.
Positive affirmations are about training your brain.
If you are training it to derive confidence from perceiving others as beneath you, you will eventually create unhealthy dynamics.
It is much more helpful to train your mind to accept, value and utilize your true virtues and strengths and rely on your own abilities.
Affirming that you have this kind of power in yourself means you have a confidence boost without having to rely on others (in the way they react to you or interact with those around you) to make the affirmation true.
4. “I have faith in myself.”
This is an affirmation especially important in moments where you may be experiencing emotional turbulence.
When things get difficult, take the time to remind yourself of your inner value, and that you have what it takes to weather any storm and come out alright on the other side.
Even in times when your faith may be a little shaken, this is an affirmation that builds on the inner strength you possess that exists beneath the muddy emotions.
There are endless situations in which you will need a boost of self-belief to help get yourself through.
Corny as it may sound, believing in yourself (and what God has instilled within you) is one of the most basic ingredients to success, and something you should remind yourself of every day.
5. “Anger consumes.”
This is an affirmation all of us need at one time or another.
Life isn’t perfect, and to put it bluntly, every now and then, people piss us off we get angry.
It can be as complex as negotiating a custody battle or as minor as a co-worker that gets on your nerves.
But wallowing in anger, feeding it and letting it grow only cultivates negative and harmful emotions.
Nothing good comes from harboring anger, but letting it go can be extremely difficult.
This is a mantra to repeat to yourself as a true statement and a reminder.
When you feel anger boiling over and negativity starting to take hold, use this affirmation to quiet your mind.
There is no sense in letting emotions escalate to a level that is harmful to you (or to anyone else).
Save this affirmation for those messy, angry moments to remind yourself to step back and find peace of mind.
6. “I will find better.”
This particular affirmation is a favorite of mine and something to tell yourself in moments of loss or disappointment.
After a bad breakup (are there any good breakups?), loss of a job, or being uprooted from any situation you’ve grown comfortable in, it is important to keep your mind from dwelling too long on the negative and developing a sense of despair.
Even if you don’t feel it in the moment, reminding yourself that a better future is not only possible, but on it’s way, will keep you from falling into a pit of hopelessness.
Remember this affirmation when you find yourself wondering if you’ll ever find love again, or the job of your dreams, or peace of mind or the life you desire.
It is possible.
Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by disappointment.
7. “I am a worthy and worthwhile person.”
Even in happy periods of life, it’s important to keep yourself surrounded with validating thoughts and thoughts of self-worth.
That’s not to say that you should spend excessive energy on inflating your ego.
No one benefits from that, least of all you.
But it is important to remind yourself frequently that you are valued and good enough.
It’s important in your daily life to reinforce this kind of positive thought process, and build it in periods when things are going well so that you ensure that you can draw on that strength in times of difficulty.
If you’re someone prone to feeling self-conscious or who has difficulty with self-esteem, this is an internal monologue on which you should especially focus.
Having a sense of self-worth will ensure that you have a stable foundation from which to make the best decisions for your future.
8. “I am determined to succeed.”
When you feel drained, lost, or that you’ve hit an insurmountable obstacle, it’s easy to fall into a disparative hole.
This kind of frustration can radiate into many parts of your life affecting your behavior, relationships, your performance as an employee and enthusiasm for searching for better opportunities.
Affirming your determination, and putting your mind in a place of drive and motivation, will help you to stay out of a mental state of negativity.
Keep yourself in the light and in a frame of mind to move forward and you will find yourself attracting better options and finding the progressive movement you’re looking for.
Sure, this affirmation won’t magically bring job offers or amazing ideas to your door, but it will keep you in the frame of mind to better find these kinds of opportunities and utilize them to your benefit.
9. “I am a beautiful person.”
Everyone, no matter how perfect they may look from the outside, struggles with their own self-image at some time or another.
Comparing yourself to others can be a mental boondoggle, and strips you of distinguishing and acknowledging what makes you unique and beautiful.
The purpose in this affirmation is not to build a false sense of confidence, but to develop a very true sense of value for the person you are and what you have to offer.
None of us are perfect, but each of us has an authentic inner beauty and our own unique gifts to extend to the world.
Don’t ignore or minimize your attributes or gifts.
A daily reminder may not always make you feel like a superstar, but it does promote needed love and acceptance that may be more difficult otherwise.
10. “My past does not define me.”
This affirmation is another of my personal favorites, and one that I believe is critical for most everyone.
As an adult, you’ve lived through things – good, bad, and otherwise.
Over time, the weight of many of these events can become heavy.
For some, it’s the burden of dark and damaging events.
For others, it’s the fear that you’ve peaked at a younger age, you cannot live up to an image created years ago or that your best years are definitely behind you.
No matter the case, your past does not define who you are now, nor who you have yet to be in the future.
It is possible to change, to adapt, to heal.
If you find yourself struggling under the weight of memories or past behaviors that you feel hinder you today, remind yourself that these things are your experiences, but they do not dictate who you are.
You are in control of how you see yourself and your future, and how you choose to think and behave today.
Don’t take that power from yourself by not acknowledging it.
Wrapping Up:
Positive affirmations are a simple enough change to make in your life, with far reaching implications.
Adding a voice of positivity, especially your own, to your daily life will train your mind to reach for and focus on optimism, strength, and self-love in difficult times.
Be a voice of light in your own life by using positive thinking and self-honesty as a tool for growth.
There’s nothing magic about the words themselves, but there is something enlightening in learning to talk to yourself more kindly and compassionately, in learning to be optimistic and hopeful, and in turning moments of difficulty into opportunities for better, for higher, for change.
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Kimberly Clay is the founder and creative force behind What She Say. She’s a business professional, writer and editor who’s been creating and managing digital content for nearly twenty years. Her work is now focused in the areas of self-improvement and personal development, and she is passionate about helping other individuals, especially women, to find a path for living their best life.