Inspirational quotes and examples of daily affirmations can be found all over the internet – but why? Does repeating affirmations in the mirror every morning actually boost our wellbeing?
In short, daily affirmations do work but it is not a cure all.
The benefits of daily affirmations
There has been a lot of research into the varied benefits of daily affirmations, some benefits include:
Decreases stress: The major benefit of affirmations is their effect on your stress levels, as a study by Sherman et al. (2009) found.
Gain in confidence: By reminding yourself of your strengths and abilities you gain confidence when facing struggles.
Shifting your mindset: Regularly practicing optimistic thinking changes your perspective of life and your abilities.
Improves your productivity: With this increased sense of confidence and positivity, you can tackle tasks at home and work with renewed strength.
Changes your behaviour: Your behaviour follows your affirmation – i.e. you will act more confident in your decisions because you have reminded yourself of your abilities and skills.
Reshapes ‘threatening’ messages: When faced with stressful situations, it is common to panic and feel a loss of control. Critcher and Dunning (2014) found that affirmations help you perceive threats with less resistance.
Reshapes how you address your physical health: Epton and Harris (2008) found that those who regularly practice affirmations are less likely to dismiss harmful health messages and are more likely to intervene to improve their physical health.
Improves academic achievement: Because of the lowered levels of stress, students who practice affirmations are reported to have significantly lower cortisol responses to stress. Another study found that writing down a list of core personal values before a test raised minority student achievements.
Why do they work?
What is the science behind these benefits for daily affirmations? It seems fantastical that speaking to yourself in the mirror or writing an affirmation on a post-it note can have such an impact on your mental wellbeing.
The main factor that induces these effects is ‘neuroplasticity’, which is our brain’s ability to adapt to circumstances throughout our life.
Our brain can often mix up reality and what we imagine. This miscommunication can be an extremely useful tool for reaping the benefits of daily affirmations.
You can create a mental image of you doing something that you are worrying about – like a job interview or giving a presentation – then you can manipulate the scene so that everything goes well and you’re successful. This imagining activates many of the same regions of the brain that actually experiencing these situations would.
Regular repetition of affirmations about yourself and your values encourages your brain into the habit of taking these statements as fact. When you believe you can do something, your actions often follow suit.
It is often understood that the thoughts we engage with the most are the ones most deeply rooted in our brains. Making a conscious and proactive effort to think positively about ourselves and abilities takes time but will soon become a habit that boosts our confidence and helps us de-stress.
Tips
Self-affirmations may seem silly to some, but the benefits are no laughing matter. The most important key for reaping these rewards is to personalise your affirmations. Here is a short list of various ways that you can make daily affirmations work for you:
Think about what you value: Think about (and/or write down) what values and abilities you admire within yourself or that you would like to bring out more. What areas in your life would you like to change to align with these values? These answers will help you personalise your affirmations.
Develop all aspects of your life: When thinking of these values, don’t just focus on one area of your life but consider what values can benefit all areas of your life, i.e. confidence, compassion, intelligence etc.
Avoid stock affirmations: Basic affirmations found on the internet may work for some, but the key for getting the most out of daily affirmations is personalisation. If you use an affirmation that does not speak to you and your life, it will fall flat and you’ll end up frustrated.
Avoid toxic positivity: Repeating phrases like “I am perfect” is unauthentic and can lead to you feeling conflicted as you fail to believe what you’re saying. Instead replace these phrases with sentiments like “I am not perfect, but I am doing my best and I am proud of myself”.
Build a habit: Set certain times aside for focusing on your affirmations. This can take as long as you want, but the affirmations should be repeated either in your head or out loud to help you focus in on their meaning.
Action is key: Affirmations are the first step but the way that you act on these beliefs is the most important factor. Practicing affirmations reminds you of your abilities and skills so when you are faced with stressful situations you can act in ways that reflect these beliefs. I.e. the affirmation “I can keep calm even when I feel angry” might guide your breathing exercises when you start to feel irritated.
Acknowledge your negative feelings: Brushing negative feelings and thoughts under the mental rug won’t do you any good. Accept your hardships and remind yourself of your previous experiences overcoming these stressors. I.e. “The situation is stressful but I have the ability to get through this”.
Reframe negative or anxious thoughts: Reframe negative thoughts like “I will be horrible in this presentation” with a positive affirmation like “I have all the skills and knowledge to ace this presentation”.
Reframe as a question: Senay, Albarracin, and Noguchi (2010) discuss the impact of interrogative questioning in relation to self-affirmations. When faced with a negative self-criticising thought, they propose that you reframe the statement into a question that prompts you to be reminded of your past strengths. I.e. “I will fail this interview” turns to “Will I fail this interview?” to which you remind yourself of the last interview you went to which you aced. These questions can remind us of our resources and abilities.
When daily affirmations don’t work
As we saw above, using generic stock affirmations and toxic positive affirmations will create an internal struggle as we are forcing ourselves to confront a belief or value that we don’t believe is true. You must think hard about the values you wish to emulate and use those to ground your affirmations.
However, it must be said that daily affirmations don’t work for everyone. Sometimes the scepticism and negativity is too deep rooted to be changed by self-affirmations.
Daily affirmations also do not fix serious psychological issues. Speaking to a counsellor or therapist will help you address these issues – and daily affirmations can be used alongside traditional therapy to help foster a positive mindset and improve your mental wellbeing.
Going forward
Daily self-affirmations are not a cure all, but they are a step in the right direction. The stress-busting benefits and the increase in confidence should not be dismissed as lightly as sceptics wish as these results are backed by many psychological studies. Self-affirmations can help you increase your wellbeing as they
Inspirational quotes and examples of daily affirmations can be found all over the internet – but why? Does repeating affirmations in the mirror every morning actually boost our wellbeing?
In short, daily affirmations do work but it is not a cure all.
The benefits of daily affirmations
There has been a lot of research into the varied benefits of daily affirmations, some benefits include:
Decreases stress: The major benefit of affirmations is their effect on your stress levels, as a study by Sherman et al. (2009) found.
Gain in confidence: By reminding yourself of your strengths and abilities you gain confidence when facing struggles.
Shifting your mindset: Regularly practicing optimistic thinking changes your perspective of life and your abilities.
Improves your productivity: With this increased sense of confidence and positivity, you can tackle tasks at home and work with renewed strength.
Changes your behaviour: Your behaviour follows your affirmation – i.e. you will act more confident in your decisions because you have reminded yourself of your abilities and skills.
Reshapes ‘threatening’ messages: When faced with stressful situations, it is common to panic and feel a loss of control. Critcher and Dunning (2014) found that affirmations help you perceive threats with less resistance.
Reshapes how you address your physical health: Epton and Harris (2008) found that those who regularly practice affirmations are less likely to dismiss harmful health messages and are more likely to intervene to improve their physical health.
Improves academic achievement: Because of the lowered levels of stress, students who practice affirmations are reported to have significantly lower cortisol responses to stress. Another study found that writing down a list of core personal values before a test raised minority student achievements.
Why do they work?
What is the science behind these benefits for daily affirmations? It seems fantastical that speaking to yourself in the mirror or writing an affirmation on a post-it note can have such an impact on your mental wellbeing.
The main factor that induces these effects is ‘neuroplasticity’, which is our brain’s ability to adapt to circumstances throughout our life.
Our brain can often mix up reality and what we imagine. This miscommunication can be an extremely useful tool for reaping the benefits of daily affirmations.
You can create a mental image of you doing something that you are worrying about – like a job interview or giving a presentation – then you can manipulate the scene so that everything goes well and you’re successful. This imagining activates many of the same regions of the brain that actually experiencing these situations would.
Regular repetition of affirmations about yourself and your values encourages your brain into the habit of taking these statements as fact. When you believe you can do something, your actions often follow suit.
It is often understood that the thoughts we engage with the most are the ones most deeply rooted in our brains. Making a conscious and proactive effort to think positively about ourselves and abilities takes time but will soon become a habit that boosts our confidence and helps us de-stress.
Tips
Self-affirmations may seem silly to some, but the benefits are no laughing matter. The most important key for reaping these rewards is to personalise your affirmations. Here is a short list of various ways that you can make daily affirmations work for you:
Think about what you value: Think about (and/or write down) what values and abilities you admire within yourself or that you would like to bring out more. What areas in your life would you like to change to align with these values? These answers will help you personalise your affirmations.
Develop all aspects of your life: When thinking of these values, don’t just focus on one area of your life but consider what values can benefit all areas of your life, i.e. confidence, compassion, intelligence etc.
Avoid stock affirmations: Basic affirmations found on the internet may work for some, but the key for getting the most out of daily affirmations is personalisation. If you use an affirmation that does not speak to you and your life, it will fall flat and you’ll end up frustrated.
Avoid toxic positivity: Repeating phrases like “I am perfect” is unauthentic and can lead to you feeling conflicted as you fail to believe what you’re saying. Instead replace these phrases with sentiments like “I am not perfect, but I am doing my best and I am proud of myself”.
Build a habit: Set certain times aside for focusing on your affirmations. This can take as long as you want, but the affirmations should be repeated either in your head or out loud to help you focus in on their meaning.
Action is key: Affirmations are the first step but the way that you act on these beliefs is the most important factor. Practicing affirmations reminds you of your abilities and skills so when you are faced with stressful situations you can act in ways that reflect these beliefs. I.e. the affirmation “I can keep calm even when I feel angry” might guide your breathing exercises when you start to feel irritated.
Acknowledge your negative feelings: Brushing negative feelings and thoughts under the mental rug won’t do you any good. Accept your hardships and remind yourself of your previous experiences overcoming these stressors. I.e. “The situation is stressful but I have the ability to get through this”.
Reframe negative or anxious thoughts: Reframe negative thoughts like “I will be horrible in this presentation” with a positive affirmation like “I have all the skills and knowledge to ace this presentation”.
Reframe as a question: Senay, Albarracin, and Noguchi (2010) discuss the impact of interrogative questioning in relation to self-affirmations. When faced with a negative self-criticising thought, they propose that you reframe the statement into a question that prompts you to be reminded of your past strengths. I.e. “I will fail this interview” turns to “Will I fail this interview?” to which you remind yourself of the last interview you went to which you aced. These questions can remind us of our resources and abilities.
When daily affirmations don’t work
As we saw above, using generic stock affirmations and toxic positive affirmations will create an internal struggle as we are forcing ourselves to confront a belief or value that we don’t believe is true. You must think hard about the values you wish to emulate and use those to ground your affirmations.
However, it must be said that daily affirmations don’t work for everyone. Sometimes the scepticism and negativity is too deep rooted to be changed by self-affirmations.
Daily affirmations also do not fix serious psychological issues. Speaking to a counsellor or therapist will help you address these issues – and daily affirmations can be used alongside traditional therapy to help foster a positive mindset and improve your mental wellbeing.
Going forward
Daily self-affirmations are not a cure all, but they are a step in the right direction. The stress-busting benefits and the increase in confidence should not be dismissed as lightly as sceptics wish as these results are backed by many psychological studies. Self-affirmations can help you increase your wellbeing as they prompt you to be assured in your abilities when facing challenges.
Again, self-affirmations may make little difference to those with more serious issues and it is important to speak to a professional to help you in your journey to better wellbeing. At Mind Space we have trusted and highly skilled licensed therapists available 24 hours a day. We can help you take the steps to improve your life, no matter what challenges you are facing in complete confidence.
Get some MindSpace, call us on 0207 553 5010.
prompt you to be assured in your abilities when facing challenges.
Again, self-affirmations may make little difference to those with more serious issues and it is important to speak to a professional to help you in your journey to better wellbeing. At Mind Space we have trusted and highly skilled licensed therapists available 24 hours a day. We can help you take the steps to improve your life, no matter what challenges you are facing in complete confidence.
Get some MindSpace, call us on 0207 553 5010.