Affirmations are positive statements that can help you overcome negative thoughts and “self-sabotage”. When you repeat them often and believe them, you can start making positive changes in your life!
You may consider affirmations to be “wishful thinking.” However, many people use them with positive results, even if there is a placebo effect behind it. This is how a person can improve their physical health, among other things. A positive mantra can reprogram our thinking patterns so that over time we begin to reason and act differently than before.
The evidence on this issue is clear – affirmations help you perform better at work. According to researchers, taking just a few minutes to think about your best qualities before a high-pressure meeting, such as a performance review, can calm your nerves, increase your confidence and your chances of a successful outcome.
“Self-affirmation” can also help alleviate the effects of stress. In one study, a brief affirmation exercise increased the problem-solving ability of highly stressed people to the same level as those with low stress levels.
Furthermore, affirmations have been used to effectively treat people with low self-esteem, depression, and other mental health conditions. They have been shown to stimulate areas in our brains that are responsible for our tendency to view reality positively.
And more recent research suggests that a stronger sense of self-worth increases the likelihood of improved well-being, which helps to combat depression, break down barriers such as communication, and become a person with a higher tolerance for stress, which directly leads to greater professional activity and courage.
You can use affirmations in any situation in which you would like a positive change to occur in your life. These can be situations where you want to:
Affirmations can be more effective when you combine them with other positive thinking and goal setting techniques.
The power of affirmations lies in repeating them regularly. It is useful to recite affirmations several times a day (have them show up in your notifications!). You must also repeat your affirmations whenever you engage in a negative thought or behavior that you want to overcome.
Affirmation statements usually address a specific area, behavior or belief that you are struggling with. The following points can help you write an affirmation that best fits your needs.
main photo: pexels.com/Skylar Kang
