How to Effectively Write Affirmations and Practice Them + Examples
I recently worked on a post about affirmations and their science (read it here). And now, let’s learn how to write affirmations that speak exactly what we want and how to do them effectively.
I’ve made dozens of positive affirmations blog posts and written many of them. I also record audio sessions of affirmations that are available on our mobile app and YouTube channel to listen to.
And, I have been practicing affirmations through them. I think I first did affirmations in 2019. I was going through disempowering self-doubt, fear of the future, and low self-esteem.
Seeking the help of affirmations at the time, in addition to journaling, was what made me resilient. Listening to myself say the words that my mind and my heart needed to hear was like a warm, comforting embrace, the feeling that things will be okay.
This is why I made them a big part of my courses on self-love and gratitude too. I have found a lot of support through affirmations, and today I want to share my best tips on how you can let them help you too.
In this post, we’ll cover 3 things:
- How to write affirmations?
- How to do affirmations, or practice them?
- Examples of affirmation sentences
Note: Albeit I am using the word affirmations only, take it to mean positive affirmations. There are negative affirmations too, like “I am helpless”, “Nothing is ever going to be okay”, and many more. But, we’re moving away from them, as we should and deserve to. So, here affirmations = positive affirmations.
Now, let’s get to the first point:
1. How to write affirmations?
There are few specifics or best practices when it comes to affirmations and here they are:
1. Start with “I am”
More often than not, you will see affirmations beginning with “I am” because that helps us change our self-conception. Whenever we share a quality about ourselves we start with I am.
For example, if you are Rashi’s best friend, you’d say, “I am Rashi’s best friend”. Similarly, if you want to increase your self-worth, you would need to say to yourself, “I am worthy.”
2. Use Present Continuous Tense, whenever possible
Affirmations are mostly always in the present tense (unless we’re writing specifically for the future), present continuous tense makes them more powerful. To give you an example, look at these two statements below:
- I choose to be kind to myself.
- I am choosing to be kind to myself.
Although both of them are good affirmations, the second one makes it more real and in the present time. It feels that it is happening right at this moment as we’re reading it and we are choosing it as we say it.
Don’t try and force an affirmation to be in this tense though. What matters most is that it should evoke the right feeling in you.
3. Keep them focused
What do you want to work on? What are your goals? Are they related to your mental health, career, relationships, or lifestyle? Make a list of the things you want affirmations to help you with.
An affirmation of the goal of getting a great job can look like, “I am getting closer to my dream job”. And, similarly, an affirmation for the goal of building a positive body image will be, “I am appreciating my body just the way that it is.”
So, make a list of your goals and write down affirmations for them.
4. Make them concise
The key to affirmations is repetition. So, you need to write affirmations that you can easily remember and say at any moment in time. Make them direct and focused on your goals. Don’t try and mix up many things together or in the style of casual conversation.
If you want to sleep better, write, “I am welcoming deep, peaceful sleep.” Also, be sure to add emotive words like excited, relaxed, joyous, happy, smoothly, strongly, and more to express the feeling of your affirmation.
5. Adjust to yourself
Which place are you in your life? What is your current state of mind? How easily can you switch to positive thoughts and genuinely agree with them? We’re all in different stages of our journey, and our affirmations should fit our needs.
They must be towards a goal but not in a way that we instantly reject them and feel worse afterward. For example, someone who’s going through a good phase in their life may have no problem saying the affirmation, “I know that I am the best version of myself!”
But, someone who is going through a tough time would require a little toned down and more empathetic affirmation like, “I am softly taking a step forward, one day at a time.”
Alright then, now we know how to write affirmations. It’s time to move to the second step:
2. How to do affirmations or practice them?
To really benefit from affirmations, they must be practiced sincerely. For example, people build a habit of gratitude journaling and do that consistently, affirmations have to be taken with the same commitment.
I will also be sharing how you can use our Gratitude app for this because it’s a tool that I use too and it’s really built to practice affirmations effectively. Okay then, here are my tips on how to do affirmations:
1. Pick up a time
You can say affirmations to yourself here and there throughout the day, but to deeply practice them, it is important to dedicate time. Early morning and before you sleep is the best time to do so.
Practicing them in the morning starts your day on the right foot and sleeping while listening to them or reading before you doze off fits them in your mind. And, as you pick your time, make sure to be consistent.
Keep in mind that it takes around 5-10 minutes, so you can also choose to do them daily or multiple times a day. Our Gratitude app will be great here as it helps you set reminders to practice affirmations.
With 600+ affirmations suited to different goals, and the ability to make your own affirmations and folders, it’s going to be really helpful in your practice.
2. Repeat affirmations
Let’s say that you have a list of 10 affirmations. You may have more affirmations in one list or multiple lists, there’s no rule here, but for the sake of the example, let’s pick 10.
Now, make sure to read or listen to this list multiple times in one go. You go through all of them once, then do that again, and again. Thrice is the benchmark. It’s what I’ve heard many people find effective.
It’s because the first time your affirmation will only be a sentence, but when you repeat that, your mind starts to remember it.
In the Gratitude app, you can set your affirmation folders on a loop so that once the first round is done, you can immediately do it again. You can set up to 10 loops! It’s amazing.
3. Do it in the right environment
Find a place of silence and serenity to practice affirmations. You can also put on some light, meditative music or sit in nature to be in a place where it’s easy for your mind to calm down. Breathe deeply and bring yourself to a place of stillness.
We have added the option to add music in the Gratitude app specifically for this reason. It helps us zone out from the world and only focus on the beautiful, uplifting words of affirmations.
4. Place affirmations around yourself
One is to do affirmations deeply and at a dedicated time. In addition to this, place affirmations like positive cues around your home or the places you most visit to keep telling your mind that these are the words you should be saying to yourself.
You can put an affirmation as your phone wallpaper, paste a poster with an affirmation in the kitchen, or paint a stone with an affirmation and put it on your work table.
These little reminders fill our days with the positive, loving light of affirmations and this light then becomes a part of how we think.
And, now we are done with the second part of this post. Let’s end it with the promised examples of affirmations that cater to a few example goals here:
3. Affirmation Examples:
Affirmations for success
- I am succeeding in life.
- I know I can achieve anything I want in life.
- Prosperity is flowing to and through me.
- I am succeeding by attracting people who can help me.
- I know a positive attitude can bring me success.
- I am full of vitality. My confidence, positive attitude, and self-belief are my biggest assets to take me a step closer to my success.
- I am feeling happy with who I am and can be.
Affirmations for confidence
- I am feeling confident, happy, healthy, and powerful.
- I deserve everything I want in life.
- I love myself unconditionally.
- I am competent, smart, and able.
- I am growing and changing for the better.
- I love the person I am becoming.
- Every day I am becoming a better version of myself.
Affirmations for wealth
- I am worthy of the wealth I desire.
- I am financially free.
- I am feeling grateful for the money I have.
- I am a money magnet.
- Wealth and abundance are flowing to me.
- Money is coming to me in expected and unexpected ways.
Affirmations to manifest love
- I am letting love into my life.
- I am feeling surrounded by love everywhere.
- I am receiving love in abundance from everyone I meet.
- I am grateful for all the love and affection I get.
- I deserve fulfilling relationships.
- My heart is open.
Affirmations for healing
- I am giving myself permission to heal.
- I am willing to be at peace with myself and everyone.
- My immune system is healthy and strong.
- I am grateful for my body.
- I am healing gently.
- I am allowing myself to give and receive love.
- I am capable of unconditional love.
And, that’s it for this post. I hope you really found this helpful. Share it with your friends and family to let them learn about the positive light of affirmations. Take care :)
Continue Reading: 101 Daily Affirmations for Mindful, Joyful Days