Positive Affirmations

Contrary to popular belief, a self affirmation will work to motivate you, but there’s a catch: it is only effective if you already have high self-esteem.

According to a 2009 study, present-tense positive affirmations had a positive effect on people with high self-esteem but a negative effect on people with low self-esteem. The researchers found that people with already low levels of self-esteem who made present-tense (“I am…”) positive affirmations actually ended up feeling worse than people who made positive statements but were also allowed to consider ways in which the statements might be inaccurate.

Therefore, if you have low self-esteem, repeatedly telling yourself how great you are won’t help you because, deep down, you don’t believe what you’re saying. It’s important to keep that in mind before you start yelling out affirmations every morning.

However, if you’ve got your mind right, and you’ve got confidence in yourself and your abilities (i.e. self-esteem), then choosing a positive self affirmation from the list below could be a great way to boost your motivation every morning.

Powerful Positive Morning Affirmations

• I am successful.
• I am confident.
• I am powerful.
• I am strong.
• I am getting better and better every day.
• All I need is within me right now.
• I wake up motivated.
• I am an unstoppable force of nature.
• I am a living, breathing example of motivation.
• I am living with abundance.
• I am having a positive and inspiring impact on the people I come into contact with.
• I am inspiring people through my work.
• I’m rising above the thoughts that are trying to make me angry or afraid.
• Today is a phenomenal day.
• I am turning DOWN the volume of negativity in my life, while simultaneously turning UP the volume of positivity.
• I am filled with focus.
• I am not pushed by my problems; I am led by my dreams.
• I am grateful for everything I have in my life.
• I am independent and self-sufficient.
• I can be whatever I want to be.
• I am not defined my by past; I am driven by my future.
• I use obstacles to motivate me to learn and grow.
• Today will be a productive day.
• I am intelligent and focused.
• I feel more grateful each day.
• I am getting healthier every day.
• Each and every day, I am getting closer to achieving my goals.
• Through the power of my thoughts and words, incredible transformations are happening in me and within my life right now.
• I am constantly growing and evolving into a better person.
• I’m freeing myself from all destructive doubt and fear.
• I accept myself for who I am and create peace, power and confidence of mind and of heart.
• I am going to forgive myself and free myself. I deserve to forgive and be forgiven.
• I am healing and strengthening every day.
• I’ve made it through hard times before, and I’ve come out stronger and better because of them. I’m going to make it through this.
• I do not waste away a single day of my life. I squeeze every ounce of value out of each of my days on this planet—today, tomorrow, and everyday.
• I must remember the incredible power I possess within me to achieve anything I desire.
• I do not engage with people who try to penetrate my mind with unhelpful thoughts and ideas—I walk away when a person or a situation isn’t healthy for me.
• I belong in this world; there are people that care about me and my worth.
• My past might be ugly, but I am still beautiful.
• I have made mistakes, but I will not let them define me.
• My soul radiates from the inside and warms the souls of others.
• I don’t compare myself to others. The only person I compare myself to is the person I was yesterday. And as long as the person I am today is even the tiniest bit better than the person I was yesterday—I’m meeting my own definition of success.
• Note to self: I am going to make you so proud.
• I finish what matters and let go of what does not.
• I feed my spirit. I train my body. I focus my mind. This is my time.
• My life has meaning. What I do has meaning. My actions are meaningful and inspiring.
• What I have done today was the best I was able to do today. And for that, I am thankful.
• One small positive thought in the morning can change my whole day. So, today I rise with a powerful thought to set the tone and allow success to reverberate through every moment of my day.
• I set goals and go after them with all the determination I can muster. When I do this, my own skills and talents will take me to places that amaze me.
• Happiness is a choice, and today I choose to be happy.

But What If You’re Not Already Confident?

As mentioned in the study on positive affirmations, it’s only the “I Am” affirmations that make you feel worse about yourself if you’re not already very confident.

That’s because you feel like you’re lying to yourself when you say “I am confident” when you don’t actually feel confident.

So, the most obvious work-around is to have somebody else say the affirmations to you in the second person “You are…” form.

• You are amazing.
• You are powerful.
• You are strong.
• I think you are so confident.
• You wake up every morning full of energy and excitement for the day.
• You are an unstoppable force of nature.
• etc…

This bypasses that inner voice that calls you a liar every time you try to use “I am” affirmations, because it’s coming from somebody else.

And it’s much harder for that inner critic to call the other person a liar, so it will eventually stop trying and just allow you to begin to feel good about yourself for once.

But…

If you don’t have a personal cheerleader in your life to hype you up about yourself every morning, you can always find good recordings of “You are” affirmations online to help you feel good about yourself until you reach the point where “I am” affirmations will work for you.

Subliminally Boost Your Confidence

Another option is to use a subliminal delivery system for positive affirmations to boost your confidence.

Subliminal affirmations bypass the conscious mind entirely, allowing you to experience subtle but powerful shifts in the way you feel about yourself as the affirmations directly change your inner voice at the subconscious level while you simply listen to soothing music and go about your daily routine.

You can try a free Speedzen subliminal confidence boosting session here and experience the positive effects for yourself within minutes of listening!