30 Positive Affirmations for Self-Esteem

It’s the end of a busy day, you look back at what you had planned for the day and all you see is the things you didn’t manage to accomplish. After that, you think to yourself: “I’m so useless.”
To top it off, you see how productive your friend’s day has been and then compare yourself: “how come I can’t be like Susan?”
Never mind looking at all the things that were accomplished…

We all do it every now and then. We berate ourselves daily. Sometimes many times a day! What we don’t realize is how damaging that is to our health. Self negative talk only leads to more procrastination, because, “what’s the point?”, and lower self esteem and confidence.
So let’s talk about how to reverse that and raise our self esteem, confidence, energy levels and productivity.

How to turn negative self talk around

First, identify when it happens – you mind is in the habit of criticizing yourself without you even noticing it.

Secondly, when you realize it is happening, as in the example above, try to instead talk back instead of automatically believing it. What about everything that has been done? What about all the unexpected things that came up that had to be dealt with? Was it really, in the end, such an unproductive day, or was it that you had to switch gears? And, if it was, what can you do differently the next day to improve?

Using positive affirmations for self-esteem

No more focusing on the negative, because the positive has always been there and needs to receive attention to grow. It’s like watering a flower. If what you think about regularly is what you are lacking, that’s what you are feeding and it will grow. If you focus on what you did right, or even on your potential to do right, that’s what will grow.

In fact, positive affirmations can be a powerful tool to help when you are feeling low self-confidence and low self-esteem. They can actually help you turn around. I have recently realized I had a habit of telling myself “It takes me forever to write a blog post”, until a friend pointed out all the wrong metrics I’d been using to reinforce that opinion, and finally how in reality I really wasn’t doing that bad.

Start being kind to yourself, and your best friend! Repetition of positive affirmations that reinforce this idea will help you shift your focus from the negative to the positive that is already there.

30 positive affirmations for self-esteem

See below some affirmations you could use to boost your self-esteem – or build your own:

• I grow more confident and stronger each day
• I am the architect of my life
• I replace negative criticism with encouraging statements
• I accept myself unconditionally
• I see problems as exciting challenges
• I radiate confidence
• I love myself and feel great about myself
• I have confidence in my abilities and skills
• I am bold and courageous
• I face difficulty with courage
• I let go of worries and replace them with excitement and optimism
• I am optimistic about the future
• I make decisions that lead to something positive in the long run
• I am worthy of happiness and love
• My future holds all kinds of pleasant surprises
• I am a unique person with a lot to offer
• I have all it takes to make my dreams a reality
• I enjoy my own company as I get to know myself
• I trust in my ability to create a bright future
• I rejuvenate every part of my being with the help of solitude
• I am at peace and happy when I’m alone
• I make sound decisions
• I brighten other’s day by practicing random acts of kindness
• I trust my intuition to guide me in the direction of my goals
• I feel the love of those who are not physically with me
• I am an inspiration to others
• I make responsible choices
• I practice my skills every day to keep improving myself
• I believe in my ability to overcome setbacks

Even better ways to use positive affirmations

Go here for basic concepts of what are positive affirmations and how to use them.

Now let’s expand on that. The more senses you engage while using positive affirmations, the better. Below are some tips on how to make even more effective use of positive affirmations.

Reading/Writing

While it’s the most basic form of using positive affirmations, it’s also the most practical. You can read – out loud, or mentally – your positive affirmations daily. Writing them down (with pen to paper), however, is also a great way to affirm. As in writing down your goals, writing down your affirmations helps physically imprint them in your subconscious mind.

Sense of touch

Combining your tactile or sense of touch to your affirmations is a little known way of reinforcing them. Some ideas are to draw or paint your affirmation, work with puzzles that are related to it, or associating the feeling of touching to a positive affirmation practice.

Sense of hearing

Auditory senses can also be used, and not only when you are reading to yourself your affirmations out loud. You could have someone else read them to you. You could listen to a podcast of your favorite speaker talking about the subject. You could turn them into songs! Or even listen to music that reinforces those positive thoughts.

Sense of smell

Free associating a pleasant fragrance with positive affirmations can also boost their effect. Aromatherapy has long been used as a technique to activate areas of your brain through the sense of smell to improve health conditions based on specific scents.
Also, it’s been proven that certain smells can trigger memories, so why not purposefully create powerful associations in your brain from your favorite fragrances to positive affirmations?
Examples:
cinnamon – My future holds all kinds of pleasant surprises
chamomile – I rejuvenate every part of my being with the help of solitude
Light up your incense, make a tea, use your essential oils, and start affirming!

Sense of sight

One of the most powerful and popular ways of reinforcing your daily affirmations habit. The sense of sight is usually applied by building a vision board, where you can put up pictures or any other visual elements that remind you daily of your goals – and positive affirmations. While you’re thinking about it, check out our post about Vision Boards and why you should build one.

Lastly, don’t just finish reading this, feel good about learning a few things, and go back to your old routine. Positive affirmations don’t work if you don’t take action. In other words, practice them daily, but most importantly set your goals and move towards them.

Set a timer, create a routine, set aside sometime for working on you. Remember to praise yourself for any achievements and celebrating small and big wins. Any progress is a reason for a pat in the back. It takes effort and deserves recognition. Give yourself the credit and the break you deserve.

Yesterday was great, today is going to be awesome, and tomorrow is another chance to make it even better!