The radical act of using positive self-talk can dramatically improve your life. Here’s why saying words of affirmation is a great practice for channeling a positive mindset, as well as increasing your capacity for love, gratitude, and hope.
The power of positive thinking has been long recognized for its ability to shift one’s mindset, and even one’s life direction, for the better. Speaking affirmations — meaningful, encouraging statements — to yourself increases your capacity for self-love, gratitude, and hope.
To begin your own practice, it’s important to understand the significance of adding this habit into your daily life. Then, you can develop your own affirmation routine and choose the right words for you. Let’s get started!
What Are Affirmations?
According to Self-Realization Fellowship monk Brother Satyananda, an affirmation is a word or phrase invoked aloud or silently with repetition and strong conviction. As he explains, the practice of saying affirmations originated in liturgical chants and ancient Sanskrit mantras. In today’s world, this practice is typically used for self-improvement.
“The power of affirmation is in the blend of positive truth statement, repetition, and strong conviction,” he tells DailyOM. “This combination produces an energetic effect that one can tangibly feel. It liberates us from anxiety, fear, and self-doubt.”
Interested in learning more? Check out Positive Affirmations to Start Your Day
The Power of Positive Words — and Why We Should Eliminate Negative Self-Talk
On a scientific level, affirmations can activate portions of the brain responsible for positive valuation and our sense of self, according to meditation coach and journalist Biju Sukumaran, who runs the website The Science of Self-Help.
“Positive affirmations work by underscoring aspects of your identity that you think you have,” he explains to DailyOM. These words remind you of your worth, inner strength, and abilities, allowing you to be more resilient and less defensive.
Negative self-talk, on the other hand, can lead to an emotionally abusive relationship with yourself, says somatic expert and coach Amy Babish, formerly a psychotherapist and consultant for Brené Brown, whom DailyOM spoke with for this article.
“If you consciously — or unconsciously — allow negative self-talk to be the CEO of your life, you become profoundly disconnected from your body, which is where your aliveness and intuition live,” Babish explains. Saying positive affirmations creates new brain habits that steer your thoughts away from negativity and in a more constructive, healthy direction.
Babish notes that negative self-talk “can also create a body-mind disconnect with secondary physical or somatic symptoms, complaints, and pain.” Research even shows a connection between pervasive negative thoughts — including catastrophizing and rumination — and bodily symptoms like joint pain and gastrointestinal issues. That’s why replacing the negative words in your head with positive ones leads you toward greater emotional and psychological safety, as well as self-compassion.
Choosing the Right Affirmation for You
When selecting your words of affirmation, it’s important that what you say rings true to you. If you don't believe your affirmation, it can reinforce a lack of self-trust, Babish says. Therefore, your affirmation should be aligned with your core identity or values.
Affirmations can also be aspirational, as if you’re imagining — and amplifying — the best possible version of yourself. “Think of your affirmation as living on a continuum, from the starting place of where you are right now to the ultimate affirmation that you would like to believe one day,” Babish says. If you read an affirmation and think, I can get behind this, that means it’s a good one to try.
You can even start with a simple affirmation like It’s okay. I’m okay. “These words bring us back to the present moment, out of our heads and into our bodies, to realize that we are, in fact, okay in this moment,” she says. “This is an incredibly gentle redirection of life force and energy back to you and away from the ego and negative self-talk.” You could also try phrasing your affirmation as a question, Sukumaran says.
“In one study, researchers found that ‘interrogative self-talk’ worked better than declarative statements,” he explains. “I would choose something related to gratitude, possibility, or resiliency, because there is a high likelihood that you could access that in the present moment.” He suggests trying questions like What if it works out perfectly? or Could I be grateful about X?
Finally, be sure that whatever affirmation you choose is a phrase that’s good for you and the world, not one that simply feeds your ego.
“Choosing or creating an affirmation that focuses on a virtue always yields positive results — confidence, peace, calmness, compassion, and so forth,” says Brother Satyananda. “Affirming a virtue will help make it dynamic. A person can then take that virtuous energy into expression for the benefit of others.”
How to Start Your Affirmation Practice
Once you have found the affirmation that resonates best with you, you’re ready to begin your daily practice. Though there is no “right” or “wrong” way to speak words of affirmation, Babish suggests that we may be most open to hearing and receiving our positive self-talk first thing in the morning or at night before bed.
Whenever you choose to do your daily affirmation practice, begin by taking a few deep breaths to feel rooted and free from stress. “For an affirmation to be not only anchored but internalized, we need to feel physically and emotionally regulated,” Babish explains.
Then, remain still in body and mind, Satyananda advises. He suggests that you begin by invoking the affirmation aloud in a firm, clear voice. “Repeat it with concentration, then reduce to a whisper and finally repeat the words mentally to yourself,” he says. “With each repetition, try to increase the conviction and make the invocation more intense.” Do this for a few minutes, working your way up to 10, then stop and feel the energy that has been generated by your practice.
Feel the power of affirmation lift you up and set you on a brighter, more positive course. “This energy is the change agent which will bring new strength in body, heart, and mind,” he says.
