affirm yourself

Affirmations are generally short phrases that are easy to remember and repeat. They can be powerful ways to help program and reprogram your thinking. Affirmations can act as reminders to your brain (and ego) to help overcome self-sabotaging or negative thought patterns.

The definition of affirmation is the act of confirming something to be true, so when you repeat the phrase ‘I am valuable’ 100 times, somewhere in your brain the neurons start to fire differently and you start to believe the phrase. I’m a big fan of affirmations and even practice reciting them out loud while walking or driving. There is a connection between hearing yourself say the words and your brain that helps make the connection to accepting and believing them to be true. This is similar to the connection of writing words or sentences out on paper over and over (like writing ‘I will not chew gum in class’ 100 times) that really solidifies the phrase in your brain.

I collected this list of 99 affirmations here to give some ideas. Feel free to use the ones that connect or resonate with you. Keep in mind too, it is probably more valuable to repeat 5 specific affirmations 10 times each, than it would be to read 50 specific affirmations 1 time each. The repetition is important.

And affirmations can be specific to different areas of your life or different seasons in your life. Some are geared towards confidence, value, or worth. Some are specific to health and personal wellness. The affirmations you practice today might not feel right a year or two from now.

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Positive Affirmations – 99

1. I alone hold the truth of who I am
2. It’s OK to ask for help
3. I am allowed to ask for what I want and what I need
4. I am allowed to feel good
5. I am capable of balancing ease and effort in my life
6. I am content and free from pain
7. I am doing the work that works for me
8. I am good and getting better
9. I am growing, and I am going at my own pace
10. I am in charge of how I feel, and I choose to feel happy
11. I am listening and open to the messages the universe has to offer me today
12. I am loved and worthy
13. I am open and readily receive healing
14. I am optimistic because today is a new day
15. I am peaceful and whole
16. I am responsible for myself and I start there
17. I am safe and surrounded by love and support
18. I am understood, and my perspective is important
19. I am valued and helpful
20. I am well-rested and excited for the day
21. I am worthy of investing in myself
22. I belong here, and I deserve to take up space
23. I belong in any room I enter
24. I breathe in healing, I exhale the painful things that burden my heart
25. I breathe in trust, I exhale doubt
26. I can control how I respond to things that are confronting or unexpected
27. I celebrate the good qualities in others and myself
28. I do all things in love
29. I do not have to linger in dark places, there is help for me here
30. I am who I am
31. I perceive what I think, therefore I am
32. I embrace change seamlessly and rise to the new opportunity it presents
33. I embrace the questions in my heart and welcome the answers in their own time
34. I grow towards my interests, like a plant reaching for the sun
35. I have everything I need to succeed
36. I hold community for others, and am held in community by others
37. I hold wisdom beyond knowledge
38. I invite abundance and a generous heart
39. I invite art and music into my life
40. I leave room in my life for spontaneity
41. I let go of the things I cannot change
42. I look forward to tomorrow and the opportunities that await me
43. I make time to experience grief and sadness when necessary
44. I nourish myself with kind words and joyful foods
45. I practice gratitude for all that I have, and all that is yet to come
46. I release the fears that do not serve me
47. I respect the cycle of the seasons
48. I seek out mystery and enchantment in the ordinary
49. I am finding my joy along the journey
50. I welcome what is, and I welcome what comes
51. I am allowing myself to evolve
52. Letting go creates space for opportunities to come
53. I wake up every morning with hope and joy for the day
54. My body is worthy of being cared for
55. My body is strong and beautiful
56. My heart knows the way
57. My perspective is unique and important
58. My sensitivity is beautiful, and my emotions and feelings are valid
59. There is growth in stillness and rest
60. There is poetry in everything
61. There is room for me at the table
62. There is something in this world that only I can do
63. Today is an opportunity to grow and learn
64. I forgive myself, and I free myself from my past mistakes
65. I release all shame, and I know that only good awaits me at every turn
66. I attract what I am ready for
67. I accept health as the natural state of my being
68. I choose to release and let go all that does not serve me anymore
69. I am safe, and all is well
70. I now consciously release all my mental patterns that manifest as disease in any way
71. I choose to be well now
72. I love and accept myself
73. With every cell in my body, I release all negative thoughts and claim my full health
74. I lovingly forgive myself and release all of the past
75. I choose to fill my life with joy
76. I love and approve of myself
77. I hear with love
78. I am in perfect balance
79. I move forward in life with ease and joy at every age
80. I am balanced and peaceful in all seasons and cycles, and know that I am loved
81. I eat healthy food that nourishes my body
82. My clothes fit me comfortably and I feel great
83. I am satisfied and content with the food that I eat
84. I radiate light and love into this world and I absorb this light and love into myself
85. I love and respect myself and others love and respect me
86. People seek my input for ideas and direction at work and at home
87. People listen when I speak
88. I respect myself and I am respected by my co-workers, my family, and all who know me
89. I am loving and kind to myself and to others
90. I am abundant and prosperous
91. I am whole, aligned, balanced, strong, powerful, and harmonious
92. I am determined and confident
93. I manage my money well and make smart and wise financial decisions
94. I think abundant thoughts
95. My dream is possible
96. I can achieve whatever I set my mind to do
97. God loves me; I am loved and loveable
98. I am highly blessed, and I am grateful
99. I have gifts and talents that  make this world a better place

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I encourage you to read through the list, pick out a couple that resonate with you, and write them down on some index cards. Then practice reading them out loud when you’re walking or driving or doing the dishes. It will feel funny and weird at first, but just play with it and see what happens.

Finding Joy by affirming yourself – sounds like a great way to start the new year.