Do Positive Affirmations Really Work?

If you’ve ever wondered if affirmations work, you’ve probably read somewhere that you need to do them over and over again to get any real benefit from them. Telling yourself positive affirmations on a regular basis may seem a little awkward at first but there really is a lot of benefit to affirmations. In this post, we’ll answer the question; “do positive affirmations work?” and I’ll give examples of how they have helped me personally in my life.

What are positive affirmations?

Positive affirmations are helpful or encouraging statements that you tell yourself to push yourself forward. they are particularly helpful in boosting self-confidence and self-esteem. If you find that you have a lot of negative inner dialogue, you can counter this negativity by rehearsing positive affirmations to yourself. Over time and through practice, positive affirmations can manifest real-world confidence and a stronger sense of self-worth.

Does research support affirmations?

Yes, there are several studies that support the use of positive affirmations. Here’s a selection of studies that found positive affirmations to be beneficial when done on a frequent basis.

1. Self-affirmations have been shown to decrease health-deteriorating stress (Sherman et al., 2009; Critcher & Dunning, 2015);
   
2. Self-affirmations have been used effectively in interventions that led people to increase their physical behaviour (Cooke et al., 2014);
   
3. They may help us to perceive otherwise “threatening” messages with less resistance, including interventions (Logel & Cohen, 2012);
   
4. They can make us less likely to dismiss harmful health messages, responding instead with the intention to change for the better (Harris et al., 2007) and to eat more fruit and vegetables (Epton & Harris, 2008);
   
5. They have been linked positively to academic achievement by mitigating GPA decline in students who feel left out at college (Layous et al., 2017);
   
6. Self-affirmation has been demonstrated to lower stress and rumination (Koole et al. 1999; Wiesenfeld et al., 2001).

How can you use affirmations yourself?

The best way to use positive affirmations yourself is to pick a few phrases that you think relate to you. For example, if you’re feeling low about your own self-worth, find a phrase that will help to pick you up when you need it. It doesn’t have to be more than a few words but it could make a big difference in your daily life.

For example. when I went for my last job interview, I felt very nervous and unsure about myself. I was trying out for a new industry and I kept thinking that there would be plenty of other people better suited to the job than me. I nearly let my inner dialogue convince myself that I wasn’t going to get the job before I’d even spoken to anyone. However, I wanted that job so badly at the time so I mustered up the courage to just go for it. I remember telling myself “you are worthy of this job.”

Of course, I can’t put getting that job down to the positive affirmations I told myself that day but they certainly helped to clear my mind and focus on something positive. The truth is, I was just as worthy as anyone else going for that job. If I had gone into that interview with a negative mindset, the interviewer would have picked up on it right away.

Will positive affirmations work for me?

According to self-affirmation theory, affirmations will likely work for you, as long as the affirmations you tell yourself align with the core values you already have. If you’re trying to convince yourself of something that you don’t believe in, you won’t get any benefit from positive affirmations. You also won’t get any benefit from positive affirmations if you don’t practise them often enough. It doesn’t have to be on a daily basis however frequent use is better. Better still, if you find yourself in a tough spot, you can always have a positive affirmation in the back of your mind, ready to go. You don’t have to be telling yourself positive phrases whilst you walk around all day!

When trying to form a new habit like practising affirmations, it’s important to commit to properly trying them. Don’t overcomplicate it, just pick a few positive affirmations to commit to. Here are some examples of positive affirmations you can try.

Examples of positive affirmations

• I am worthy
• I am already good enough
• I can do this
• I’m bigger than this
• I’ll overcome this
• I can push through this
• I am strong
• I am a good learner
• I’m getting better everyday
• I’m a good friend
• I can complete this task
• I’ve always been capable
• I’m a good person
• I’m a great parent

These positive affirmations are simple phrases that can be used at any time. However, just because they’re simple phrases, they shouldn’t be underestimated. Many people, including myself, can find themselves listening to negative thoughts all too often. It can be much easier to focus on those negative thoughts and in doing so you can eventually end up with a negative outlook or opinion of yourself.

Negative thoughts and depression

Listening and leaning into negative thoughts didn’t cause my depression by itself but it sure contributed to it. I always say that depression isn’t caused by only one thing, it’s usually a cascade of different things and negative thoughts are one of those things. In my experience, negative thoughts can compound on themselves until you’re left convinced that you’re not good enough or unworthy of something.

However easy it is to listen to negative thoughts, you have just as much right to listen to your positive thoughts and positive affirmations help you feed your mind and create a more positive environment for overall positivity.

Positive affirmations cannot cure anxiety or depression but they are a simple tool that won’t cost you anything to try.

More examples of positive affirmations

Here is some more positive affirmations examples you can incorporate into your daily routine.

• I love myself and I am loved
• I am responsible for my own life
• I have coped before and I will cope again
• I am grateful for every day
• I am doing my best every day
• If I keep going, I know I will be successful
• The best is yet to come

These positive affirmations are realistic and not out of the bounds of possibility. They are likely things that you already know but things that you may need to remind yourself of nonetheless.

Affirmations and visualisation

Many athletes use visualisation techniques to improve their real-world performances. The idea is to visualise scoring a goal over and over so you become in tune with your goal. This strengthens your chances of performing positively when it comes to doing the task. The same can be said for remembering positive affirmations. The more you do them, the stronger the positive feelings become and the more real they become.

It’s not just athletes that use visualisation though. People from all walks of life use visualisation techniques to improve their real-world performance and what they want out of life.

If you can’t visualise your goals, it makes them a lot harder to achieve, in my opinion.

You can also think of affirmations as a kind of meditation. Whilst you’re not sitting with your legs crossed (although you can!) the repetition helps to reinforce positive feelings. The best part is, affirmations won’t cost you anything but they can be really helpful in terms of motivation and self-encouragement.

Why affirmations are actually helpful

Affirmations can be very helpful because all too often we rely on others to give us positive feedback. However, when you ditch the need to solely rely on others and instead rely on yourself, you can get a sense of self-confidence that you can’t get from other people.

If you have a strong self of self-reliance you can do things that you otherwise might not think you could. Building a sense of self-confidence and self-reliance with positive affirmations and phrases also helps to build a self of stronger self-worth. When you believe in yourself, you can keep pushing through boundaries.

Why positive affirmations sometimes don’t work and what to do

Some research points out that positive affirmations don’t help if you have strong negative beliefs about yourself already. It is said by some that positive affirmations only target the conscious mind, not the subconscious mind, therefore positive affirmations might not actually help. If you have a poor sense of self-worth, you may cringe when you practise positive affirmations which I believe is the norm for most people.

Telling yourself how good you are is uncomfortable at first and some people might find it to be a bit narcissistic. However, you can always think of practising positive affirmations as giving yourself a little pep talk. After all, we all give ourselves pep talks every now and again. For example, most of us have had to give a presentation at some stage in school.

I remember having to give a presentation at school once and I was very nervous about it. Before the teacher pointed at me to tell me it was my turn, I was already psyching myself up. I told myself that I was just as good at giving my presentation as anyone else. After all, we were all new at giving presentations and so that helped me to feel a little less silly about standing in front of the class.

This simple affirmation or ‘pep talk’ showed me just how effective giving yourself a little encouragement can be. You can apply positive affirmations to anything in life.

Positive affirmations for kids

Kids can also use positive affirmations to help them at home and in the classroom. Positive affirmations are especially helpful for kids who get distracted or those who have a hard time with low confidence. Simply reciting positive affirmations can have a big positive impact on some kids. Check out these printable positive affirmation cards for kids below!

Positive affirmations in summary

Some people use positive affirmations religiously. Some people just use positive affirmations sparingly when they need them. You can use positive affirmations however you like and they don’t have to be constant. If you want to make positive affirmations a habit, try using them before you do something you struggle with or that you find uncomfortable. For example, if going to work in the morning makes you feel anxious, you can recite some positive affirmations before you leave your car to go into the building.