Affirmations can be more powerful — and effective — than traditional new year’s resolutions. Try the following affirmations as you set your daily intentions, or any time you’re embarking on a new path or need a fresh start.
As the end of the year approaches, we begin thinking about our hopes for the months ahead, and those hopes often become resolutions. But before you set a typical new year’s goal, you might consider adopting affirmations for a successful year instead.
According to holistic transformation coach, mindful meditation facilitator, and sound healer Stephanie Weber, resolutions can often lead to feelings of guilt or shame when people don’t stick with them. (Scrapping resolutions is the norm: Recent research shows that 64 percent of people abandon their resolutions within the first month of the new year.)
“Unfulfilled resolutions can end up spiraling into negative thoughts, which can lead to beating ourselves up and even self-sabotage,” she tells DailyOM. “Rather than setting a rigid, specific goal or resolution, [creating] affirmations is a powerful way to set intentions for the new year.”
“Rather than setting a rigid, specific goal or resolution, [creating] affirmations is a powerful way to set intentions for the new year.”
Starting the new year — or any time of transition — with a positive mindset can set you up for a more fulfilling future and personal growth. The following affirmations are curated to a different self-development goal, ideal for setting your intentions or any time you need a fresh start.
1. I am grateful for who I am becoming.
Starting a daily gratitude practice can be as simple as repeating this affirmation, which prevents you from getting bogged down by negative thoughts. “Mantras and affirmations help us to shift our focus from the negative — and all the things we don’t have — to all the things we do have and are grateful for,” Weber says. This affirmation puts the focus on self-discovery and growth, and moves away from the idea of needing to “fix” yourself.
Interested in learning more? Check out Positive Affirmations to Start Your Day
2. I am worthy of manifesting everything I desire.
Teach yourself to feel deserving of what you want in life with this positive affirmation. “Affirmations help us realize who we need to become and how we need to think in order to reach our goals,” Weber says.
That last part is key: Give yourself permission to believe in your own worth so that you are better able to work toward — and receive — whatever you desire.
3. I am exactly where I need to be and life is happening for me, not to me.
Starting the new year with a feeling of agency is motivating. Manifestation expert Angela Marie Christian recommends using this affirmation, which fortifies a belief that everything is unfolding in your life as it should. “Affirmations not only will help you call in your dreams, but they can also help you get through tough times,” Christian tells DailyOM.
This mantra can help you feel a sense of purpose and strength, and allow you to harness the power of manifestation, no matter the circumstances.
4. I am strong enough to overcome any obstacle. Every challenge I experience serves a purpose to align me into my highest path.
Weber says that mantras help us to reframe challenges and remind us to keep going. When life doesn’t go as planned or you lose sight of your goals, this affirmation can help you regain positive momentum. It’s important to note, however, that affirmations are not a denial of the rough patches in life, but rather a way to steady ourselves through them.
5. I am getting closer to my goals every day. Everything that is meant for me will come into my life.
When you’re feeling unmotivated or discouraged, this affirmation can help you regain your footing. “We cannot create abundance in our lives if we are living in a state of scarcity and lack,” Weber says. Celebrate the small wins as you continue on your path.
6. Setting healthy boundaries keeps me from disappointing one of the most important people in my life: me.
Starting the new year with this affirmation reminds you to put yourself first.
For those who have trouble focusing on themselves, this affirmation can help you set healthy boundaries. “This mantra gives the recovering people-pleaser permission to take care of themselves and gives value to their own needs,” professional mindset coach Shari Leid tells DailyOM.
7. I am wealthy and abundant, and money flows to me.
If your focus is on your finances in the coming year, positive affirmations can set these goals in motion. “If you struggle with speaking affirmations that might not feel true — as in, you have $6 in your bank account and you’re saying ‘I’m wealthy’ — remember that the universe works in the present moment,” Christian says. “Think of affirmations as placing an order with the universe, using its language.”
8. I am inviting love and healing into my mind and body.
If your goals center around health, ditch exercise or diet mandates and focus on whole-body wellness. “Instead of setting goals that are based on willpower and typically fail, leaving you feeling disappointed, I recommend utilizing the power of words and emotions to move closer to your goals,” Christian says. “Speak it, feel it, and know it’s on the way to you in divine timing.”
9. I will leave everyone I come across today feeling happier simply because they had the opportunity of spending time with me.
For those struggling with loneliness — especially common when you’re in the midst of a new beginning or life change — work on manifesting connections with others using this mantra. “It provides a challenge that shifts the focus from the self to the individual you’re interacting with, which helps ease self-conscious feelings and brings excitement into socializing,” Leid explains.
This affirmation is ideal for those who are jumping back into the dating pool or starting a new job or adjusting to a new phase in your life.
10. I am going to learn to trust myself by treating myself as I would a friend, following through on my promises to myself.
This mantra encourages you to make a commitment to yourself.
When you’re struggling with self-confidence due to a new beginning or life event, build faith in yourself with this affirmation, Leid suggests. “When you follow through with self-made promises, your self-trust will build, leading to that desired self-confidence that you seek,” she says.
Starting a New Year Affirmation Practice
Experts recommend saying these mantras 10 times at the beginning or end of the day (or both) to reap the full benefits of an affirmation practice. Christian says, however, that simply speaking them isn’t enough. “You also need to feel the feelings — as if they’re happening or already happened — while you’re speaking them,” she advises. “Whatever we tell our mind, and specifically the subconscious, it’ll believe.”
Allow yourself to tune into the emotions these affirmations bring up, and use them to help you bring to life whatever it is you desire for this new year — and beyond.
