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With the emergence and (ending?) of Covid, practicing positive affirmations is more important than ever! 

While it can be hard at times to keep a positive outlook on life when nothing seems to be going right, it’s very crucial that we speak daily affirmations to ourselves and try not to let the negativity infiltrate our thoughts and bring us down. 

Oftentimes, we are so nice, supportive, and offer gentle words of encouragement to everyone around us, but when it comes to us, we often fail to extend that same act of kindness to ourselves. 

Learning to be kind and positive when we talk to ourselves is worth doing. It can help build up self-esteem, confidence, and so much more!

What are Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations are forms of positive self-talk, statements, or phrases that help to challenge unhelpful or negative thoughts we naturally think about all day and every day. 

Google defines affirmations as the action or process of affirming something or being affirmed.

Some examples of affirmation types include daily affirmations, morning affirmations, positive affirmations for women, daily affirmations, daily affirmations for women, positive affirmations for students, affirmations for self love, and so on.  

Whether it’s talking to ourselves loudly or silently, affirmations are the running dialogue we have inside our heads and they consist of words we say to ourselves either consciously or subconsciously. 

We often don’t pay much attention to our conscious thoughts — let alone our subconscious ones, but it’s vital that we do. What we say or think, especially subconsciously, can take a toll on our mental health. It can also affect how we feel during the day and how we respond to situations.

According to Psychology Today Magazine, “Many people are conscious of an inner voice that provides a running monologue throughout the day and even into the night. Cheerful and supportive or negative and self-defeating, this internal chatter is referred to as self-talk.”

This inner voice is a mix of conscious and unconscious opinions and biases. When this voice is positive, it helps to calm down worries and boost confidence. 

Unfortunately, negative affirmations are also a part of our mental health. Though it seems unrealistic, negative affirmations have the power to be destructive, paralyzing people into passivity and self-absorption — even to the point of being unconscious to the world around them.

What Are Some Examples of Positive Affirmations?

Once you’re aware and can adamantly recognize what your inner voice is saying, you can begin to remove the negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts instead.

Experts suggest that a good rule of thumb is “Don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else.”

• Instead of affirming, “I give up. I’ll never be able to do this.”, try affirming “I can do this! If I keep going, I’ll get there in no time.”

• Instead of affirming, “I’m not good enough.”, try affirming “I am enough and worthy of everything I desire.”

• Instead of affirming, “They won’t like me.”, try affirming “I really love me and I am loveable to everyone I meet.”

• Instead of affirming, “It’s too complicated.”, try affirming “Everything is figure-out-able. Let me try this from a different angle.”

Read More: 2 Powerful Words That’ll Change Your Life

Challenge Those Negative Affirmations

It’s important that you challenge your negative self-talk. To fully be able to change the direction of your thoughts, it’s crucial that you stop and think:

• Is there any evidence to support what I’m thinking?

• If my friend was in a similar situation, how would I respond? What would I say to them?

• What can I do to change how I’m feeling?

Many people have found that journaling or carrying a journal around throughout the day can help them recognize and rectify negative self-talk. 

Here are some journals below to help guide you in your self-care journey:

During the day, write down any negative thoughts that pop up in your head. When you think about them, instantly replace them with a positive affirmation or with one of your daily affirmations. 

At the end of every day, write down a summary of all your positive affirmations throughout the day and reaffirm them to yourself before going to bed. This can help you stop any negative self-talk or negative thoughts right in its tracks and help you recognize any trends, patterns, or topics that may be causing those negative self-talks. 

Be sure to add this self-care activity to your nightly routine checklist!

Related Post: The Best Self-Care Night Routine + Free Checklist Inside!

What are the Benefits of Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations bring about so many benefits but some of the main benefits are reduction to stress, better mental health, and increased confidence.

Positive Self-Talk Reduce Stress

Studies have shown that positive thinkers develop better coping mechanisms when dealing with stressful situations. For positive thinkers, difficult situations look more like a learning opportunity to overcome and less like a daunting problem you’re forever stuck in. 

Adopting a positive mindset will help you gain a positive outlook on life and assist with any and everything that comes your way, no matter how stressful it may be.

Your Mental Health Will Improve

When your inner voice is constantly being positive and compassionate towards you, it changes the way you view yourself and the world around you. This means that no difficult or problematic situation will ever destroy or bring you down.

Along with your inner dialogue and positive outlook on life, your mental health will begin to improve and look for more positive things to keep it in that state of mind forever.  

Gain More Confidence

By no longer listening to your inner voice telling you ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘what would people think’, you’ll build more faith in God, yourself, and your abilities. It’s only a matter of time before you start noticing how confident you become in the workplace, your personal life, and your relationships.

Other benefits of positive affirmations include increased vitality, improved immune system, increased physical wellbeing, and greater life satisfaction.

Related Post: How To Build Self-Confidence With Your Clothes

How Positive Affirmations and Self-Care Work Together

Psychology Today has said that “Making deliberate shifts in your self-talk is one of the most meaningful ways you can care for yourself, especially if you tend to speak to yourself unkindly.”

We know that self-care in all forms is important. But most likely when asked ‘what is self-care?’, basic self-care is often mistaken for long spa days, healthy green juices, a glorious day-off from work, and rarely has anything to do with positive affirmations. 

How can we expect to freely enjoy these fun self-care activities when negative self-talk has its’ way of creeping in our minds from time to time? 

When done right, positive affirmations can make a huge difference in your mind, life, relationships, and surroundings. 

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Real self-care is only possible when you can get to the root of the problem.

By taking note of how we speak to ourselves internally, we can improve our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. 

So, the next time you hear any negative self-talk popping up in your mind, stop for a moment and think about what’s causing these negative thoughts. How can you turn these thoughts into positive affirmations for yourself. 

Keep practicing your daily affirmations and you’ll get the hang of it in no time! Soon enough, you’ll see the big difference of what positive affirmations can really do in your life.

Read More: 33 Best Self-Care Practices For Your Mind, Body & Soul

Now Let’s Discuss:

How do you practice positive affirmations? 

Let me know down in the comments below of any tips/tricks you may have in overcoming negative self-talk. I’m always looking for new ways to improve my own positive self-talk. 

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