For most people, our self-talk (the voice inside our head) usually has negative undertones.
I’m too short, I’m too fat, I’m unfit, I can’t do that, I haven’t got a good memory are the ones that spring to mind for me and I’m sure they are (or something similar) the same for other people too. These thoughts and feelings we tell ourselves, together with others given to us over the years by parents, family, teachers and our peers, will have contributed to creating the self-limiting beliefs we have about ourselves.
Thinking in a positive way about our qualities and attributes may only happen when filling in a job application! But it doesn’t have to be this way. By using affirmations to change your self-talk to be more positive and uplifting, you can change your mindset and help to manifest good things into your life.
What is an affirmation?
Affirmations are powerful statements that can help to transform your thoughts and your life. The word affirmation comes from the word affirm. The Collins English dictionary definition is……
If you affirm that something is true or that something exists, you state firmly and publicly that it is true or exists.
How do affirmations work?
Affirmations help you to quickly move your mindset to focus on positive aspects of yourself. They help you to manifest into your reality what you want and who you want to be. Affirmations remind you that nothing is impossible – if you think you can you can, if you think you can’t you can’t.
Affirmations help you to create positive self-belief statements that tell your subconscious mind that these positive statements are real for you right now. They move you to take actions to achieve the things you’ve stated you’re capable of. Use them as part of your mental self-care regime to increase your feelings of self-confidence, self-love and self-belief.
Creating your own powerful affirmations
Here’s how to create your own, powerful affirmations that will change your self-talk and create a more positive mindset around who you are and what you want to achieve.
Who are you?
It’s good to start your affirmations with the words I, I am or my. This tells your subconscious mind that this is happening now and that this is your current reality. If starting with I, I am or my don’t work for your affirmation statement then have these words somewhere in your affirmation. This affirmation is what you believe to be true about yourself at this moment in time so ‘I am’ is a good phrase to start with.
What do you have, what do you want?
State what you have, what you want or what you want to happen. Ideally, you should believe the statement is true for you right now. You can use statements that you don’t currently believe to be true at this moment in time, but it will take longer for your subconscious mind to activate the vibrational energy needed to move you to think that this is true now or that you are capable of it.
Don’t include phrases such as I don’t, I’m stopping, I won’t, I’m not, or I can’t etc. as these will highlight negativity to your subconscious mind. Personally, I find short affirmations work better for me; they’re easier for me to remember and they are straight to the point.
Add in some emotion
Having positive emotions as to why you want what you have in your affirmation will help you to believe that your affirmation is achievable. Ask yourself, how will I feel if this were true for me? If you can’t feel an emotion then change the wording of your affirmation until it feels real and invokes positive emotions.
Increase the vibrational energy
- Say your affirmation EVERY day out loud. Repetition allows your subconscious mind to believe that this statement is a true and real reflection of you. Repeat as often as you like throughout the day.
- Do something physically empowering when saying it – stand tall, punch the air, look yourself in the eye in a mirror etc.
- Say it with conviction and really feel the emotions that led you to write your affirmation.
If you would like some help creating a positive mindset take a look at
Here you will find 27 self-care ideas to help increase your self-confidence and improve your self-talk.
About Sharon
Sharon lives with her partner, Geoff, in Warwickshire and they have two adult children. She worked for over 25 years in an office environment, gaining qualifications to degree level in finance, business and management. While there Sharon witnessed and experienced many stressful situations and suffered stress-related illnesses.
Sharon was advised to make some changes to her lifestyle which included trying complementary therapies. After experiencing the benefits of complementary treatments, Sharon decided to retrain and share her knowledge and experiences to help others recognise and manage their own physical and emotional stress and anxiety levels.
She has been working as a complementary therapist for over 15 years now and loves helping people manage and reduce their stress levels to feel uplifted, focused, positive and empowered about their lives.
