Affirmations are positive, specific statements that help you to overcome self-sabotaging, negative thoughts. They help you visualize, and believe in, what you’re affirming to yourself, helping you to make positive changes to your life and career.

While there’s limited research into the effectiveness of using affirmations in a general setting, there is evidence that the use of positive affirmations can successfully treat people with low self-esteem, depression, and other mental health conditions.

For instance, in a study by researchers at Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, people who used positive affirmations for two weeks experienced higher self esteem than at the beginning of the study.

Also, in a study published in the Journal of American College Health, researchers found that women treated with cognitive behavioral techniques, which included use of positive affirmations, experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms and negative thinking. A study by researchers at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, had similar results, and came to a similar conclusion.

Of course, it’s important to realize that although some people have successfully used affirmations to overcome depression and negative thinking, the technique may not work for everyone. Some people may view affirmations as “wishful thinking,” or simply looking at the world with an unrealistic perspective. Quite a lot can depend on your mindset.

So try looking at positive affirmations this way – many of us do repetitive exercises to improve our body’s physical health and condition. Affirmations are like exercises for our mind and outlook; these positive mental repetitions can reprogram our thinking patterns so that, over time, we begin to think, and act, in a new way.

You can use affirmations in any situation where you’d like to see a positive change take place. These might include times when you want to:

  • Raise your confidence before presentations or important meetings.
  • Control negative feelings such as frustration, anger, or impatience.
  • Improve your self-esteem.
  • Finish projects you’ve started.
  • Improve your productivity.
  • Affirmations are often more effective when they’re paired with other positive thinking and goal-setting techniques.

For instance, affirmations work particularly well alongside visualization Add to My Personal Learning Plan – instead of just picturing the change we’d like to see with visualization, we’re also saying it aloud using a positive affirmation.

Affirmations are also useful when setting personal goals Add to My Personal Learning Plan. Once you’ve identified the goals you’d like to achieve in the short and long term, you can use positive affirmations to help keep yourself motivated in order to achieve them.

How to Use Affirmations

Remember – affirmations are positive statements that help you challenge and overcome negative thinking and self-sabotaging behaviors Add to My Personal Learning Plan. They’re usually short, positive statements that target a specific area, behavior, or belief that you’re struggling with.

Start by thinking of the areas of your life you’d like to change. For instance, do you wish you had more patience? Or a deeper relationships with your friends or colleagues? Or do you want a more productive workday?

Write down several areas or behaviors you’d like to work on. Then, for each of these, come up with a positive, present-tense statement you can repeat to yourself several times a day.

It’s also important that your affirmation is credible, believable, and based on a realistic assessment of fact. For instance, imagine you feel bad about the level of pay you’re currently receiving. So you begin to use affirmations to raise your confidence about asking for an increase. However, it probably wouldn’t be wise to affirm to yourself that you’re going to double your salary: for most people, and most organizations, doubling what you’re earning in one go just isn’t feasible. Keep it realistic!

After all, if you can’t believe the affirmations you’re repeating to yourself, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll have any impact on your life.

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