In challenging times, a little positivity can go a long way. One of my favorite ways to stay grounded, motivated, and optimistic is with affirmations.
What Are Affirmations?
Affirmations, also known as positive affirmations, are short, powerful statements that, when repeated regularly, can shift your mindset. Many psychologists, therapists, and even monks describe them as tools that help transform negative thoughts, feelings, and habits into more positive ones.
According to WellspringPrevention.org, there are different types of affirmations, each designed to serve a specific purpose:
- Self-affirmations – reinforce your identity and core values, helping to build confidence and self-esteem.
- Goal-oriented affirmations – keep you focused on achieving specific outcomes. For example: “I am capable of reaching my goals.”
- Healing affirmations – promote emotional and physical recovery through self-compassion and inner peace. For example: “I am healing and growing stronger every day.”
What Can Affirmations Do?
Affirmations aren’t just feel-good phrases, they’re practical tools for empowerment and transformation. Regular use of positive affirmations can:
- Increase self-esteem, confidence, and emotional well-being
- Support mental and emotional resilience
- Improve sleep quality
- Boost motivation and perseverance
- Encourage gratitude, love, and hope
- Help reduce stress, anxiety, fear, and worry
There’s even science behind them. According to MentalHealth.com, the effectiveness of affirmations may be rooted in neuroscience. Repeating positive statements helps create new neural pathways in the brain. Over time, this rewiring makes it easier to return to positive thought patterns instead of falling back into negative ones. The result? Tangible improvements in how we think, feel, and experience life.
How to Use Affirmations Effectively?
There’s no single “right” way to use affirmations—the key is to find what works for you and stay consistent. Here’s a simple guide to help you get started:
- Choose Meaningful Affirmations
- Personalize them: Select affirmations that reflect your values, speak to your goals, or support your emotional needs.
- Start with “I am…” These words create a sense of ownership and power.
Examples: “I am worthy.” “I am resilient.” “I am making a difference.”
- Repeat Regularly
- Daily practice: Incorporate affirmations into your morning, bedtime routine, or during quiet moments in your day.
- Be consistent: The more often you repeat them, the more they shape your mindset.
- Use reminders: Sticky notes, journal entries, or phone alerts can keep you on track.
- Say Them Aloud
- Hear yourself: Speaking affirmations aloud helps reinforce them in your mind.
- Mirror work: Try saying them while looking into your eyes in the mirror—it builds self-connection.
- Be present: Speak slowly and clearly, focusing on the meaning of each word.
- Feel and Believe
- Use the present tense: Frame affirmations as if they’re already true.
- Visualize: Imagine the reality you’re affirming. Let yourself feel the emotions behind the words.
- Practice belief: Even if you don’t fully believe them yet, repetition helps build faith in the process.
- Use Affirmations Strategically
- Counter negativity: Replace negative self-talk with affirmations when you catch it creeping in.
- Lean on them in tough times: They can bring calm and clarity during stress or uncertainty.
- Incorporate into daily activities: Say them while getting ready, commuting, walking, or during breaks.
- Be Patient and Persistent
- Give it time: Like any habit, affirmations take time to create lasting impact.
- Stay committed: Even when it feels silly or hard, keep going. The shift happens gradually—but it happens.
My Personal Practice
I personally repeat affirmations several times a day. They’re one of the simplest yet most powerful tools I’ve found for bringing more positivity, strength, and focus into my life. Some of my favorites are:
- “I am grateful.”
- “I am enough.”
- “I am blessed.”
- “I’ve got this.”
If you’re new to affirmations, I encourage you to explore samples online, there are thousands to choose from, and many helpful apps too.
Final Thought
Affirmations are more than just words. They are reminders of who we are, who we’re becoming, and the power we hold to shape our thoughts and experiences. Whether you need encouragement, healing, or direction, positive affirmations can be a daily act of self-love and empowerment.
I am filled with gratitude for this opportunity to share my musings with you.
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Flexible Being
Socials:
Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline
Instagram: @theresamartinezshapiro
Instagram: @flexiblebeing
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Hello! I am Theresa Martinez-Shapiro; Wife to Robert. Founder of Flexible Being. A Master Reiki Therapist, Certified Oracle Guide, Spiritual Mentor/Guide, Intuitive Empath, Coach, and Educator. I am a fur mom to 3 cats and 1 dog – Sonny, Patches, Ryelee, and Winnie. We currently live and practice in Stockton, California. We operate three businesses – Shapiro Holistic Health and Chiropractic, Fusion Health APC, and Synergy Health MSO, where we seek to improve and change the lives of our patients and those we have the privilege of crossing paths with. My healing and mentoring journey began around 5 years old when I discovered that I was put on this planet to help others. I knew I was different, unique, and gifted. I did not see the world the same way everyone else did, and recognized I was meant to do so much more. I began to research, spending a lot of time reading & asking a lot of questions to anyone that wanted to share stories about their life experiences. I am a dreamer and had a unique relationship with the dream world. My very real, vivid & lucid dreams began turning into out-of-body experiences and unexplained occurrences. I began doing my own dream interpretations to look for patterns & a new way of deciphering life. Family members were part of many different religions, so I was educated in Catholicism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, and Native American culture & beliefs. Along the way, I took up multiple mentors that cultivated my growth and expansion of my gifts, allowing me to focus on my potential and purpose. As an adult, coworkers were unloading their life stories, internal secrets, and things that had not been shared or even spoken out loud. I began to share those experiences with my aunt & Reiki Master/Teacher, Carmen. In 2012, Carmen told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I always knew you were meant to walk”. That saying began my obsessive journey into Reiki, Spirituality, Psychology, Intuition and Psychic gifts, Meditation and Mindfulness, Past Lives, Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Mysteries of the Universe, Moon and Sun cycles, Astrology, Numerology, Oracle Cards, Shamanism, & so much more. My journey has helped me to assist patients, clients, families, and friends discover who they have been, who they are, and who they want to become. I am expanding my reach and educating others by authoring Musings of a Flexible Being, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Thank you! Theresa Martinez-Shapiro Flexible Being Website: www.flexiblebeing.com Socials: Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline Instagram:@theresamartinezshapiro Instagram: @flexiblebeing
