If we start our day with uplifting words, imagine the amount of positivity we will fill in our life? Keeping our spirits high, always seeing the bright side, and not losing hopes – all this is not very hard. But when we are not in a positive state of mind, it does seem hard. We want to feel good, think positive, but…our mind does not support us. We want to hear uplifting words, and we want to change our state. And that’s what I am going to share in this series – Happy Mind, Happy Life. The first word we will be dealing with is “Affirmations”.

“Today, I will control my thoughts, focus on what I am grateful for instead of complaining, take care of myself mentally, physically, and spiritually, and take steps towards accomplishing my goals.” 

Affirmations are a powerful term. They are positive reminders or statements that can be used to encourage and motivate yourself or others. It is easy to affirm others, but when it is our turn..hunnn…it is not. 

Affirmations are a powerful way to improve your mindset daily, and research has shown that they can increase our feelings of self-worth. To come out of the pre-set notion of less uplifting feeling or thoughts, we have to reboot or train our brain.

When it is about setting a tone for our achievements or our surroundings, we are pretty hard-wired. We get very quick to name something or someone, even ourselves. In stressful situations, we become our greatest critic. We gain the mastery in pointing out our flaws. We even replay the occasions or moments when we were not at our best. 

Our thoughts play a big part in our overall success and happiness. And because of this, it is crucial to find ways to improve our mindset. Else, our mind gets cluttered with negative thought patterns. Good thoughts are food for our brains. Here, I have made a list of statements that I like to tell myself, and I want you to start saying them to yourself. They are powerful.

Now, for the rest of this post, I would suggest you be very calm and relaxed. You can read out loud if you want. Let’s begin. 

If you are looking an audio version for affirmations, here is the podcast link.

1.         I love myself.

2.         I am blessed to have this life. 

3.         I am safe inside my nest.

4.         I permit myself to do what is right for me.

5.         I am confident in my ability.

6.         I use my time and talents to help others 

7.         I feel proud of myself when I [fill in the blank].

8.         With every passing day, I am growing and learning.

9.         I allow myself to be who I am without judgment.

10.       I listen to my intuition and trust my inner guide.

11.       I accept my emotions the way they are.

12.       I give myself the care and attention that I deserve.

13.       I have the drive and ambition that allows me to achieve my goals.

14.       I share my talents with the world by [fill in the blank].

15.       I am good at helping others. 

16.       I am creative. 

17.       My mind is full of brilliant ideas.

18.       I put my energy into things that matter to me.

19.       I trust myself to make the right decision.

20.       I am becoming closer to my true self every day.

21.       I am grateful to have people in my life.

22.       I am learning valuable lessons from myself every day.

23.       I make a difference in the world by merely existing in it.

24. I am happy from within.

There are different ways; one can practice affirmations. You can do it in front of the mirror or say it loud if you can or repeat. Start by choosing two to three affirmations from the above list that resonate with you. From there, decide if you will say them aloud, write them down, or recite them in your head. Try to do this in the morning or before you go to bed.

So, is there any science or research related to affirmations? The answer is yes.

A Look at the Research

The development of self-affirmation theory has led to neuroscientific research to investigate whether we can see any changes in the brain when we self-affirm in positive ways.

MRI evidence suggests that specific neural pathways are increased when people practice self-affirmation tasks (Cascio et al., 2016). If you want to be super detailed, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—involved in complimentary valuation and self-related information processing—becomes more active when considering our values (Falk et al., 2015; Cascio et al., 2016).

Affirmation or affirmative statements look doable? Aren’t they? Then why we get into a self-blame game? Why do we start criticizing ourselves the minutes we fail at something? Why do we start doubting ourselves if someone tells us about some event when we weren’t at our best ? People who follow self-affirmation tend to be strong. They believe in their capabilities, are positive, take positive and negative comments positively, and believe in self-growth. 

I hope I have given you enough reasons to start repeating these sentences, and I am sure you will see a difference. Good luck with the journey of self-development.

If you would like to know more about self-affirmation and how can you practice it then check out https://sanitydaily.com/self-affirmation/