I’ve been asking around to see if people create New Year resolutions and affirmations and I seem to get the same general response: “Do they even work?”

After asking a friend and her son the same question, she replied with a similar sentiment. “Oh, too much pressure,” she said. 

I casually asked her son, “What do you want to do more of this year?”

He said, “I want to play more basketball.”

I congratulated him, “You got yourself a New Years’ resolution!”

Creating goals, resolutions, or affirmations doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. Their benefits far outweigh the little work that goes into making them.

When we are overwhelmed by negativity in the world or self-negative talk, we have to establish the talk we want to hear. I do this by reciting something positive and inspiring to brush off the negativity of chatter in my head. It is empowering. We cannot control what is around us, but we can control and soothe our thoughts and create new beliefs–ones that positively suit us. This is why I started to use affirmations.

“Words can inspire, thoughts can provoke, but only action truly brings you closer to your dreams.”

-Brad Sugars

What are affirmations?

I began using affirmations long before I knew about the word “affirmations”. For me, they were simply a survival technique. They served to help shift my thinking from what I felt, to what I wanted to feel. At 16, I had thoughts of ending my life because I could not bear the negative thoughts in my head. I wrote brief sentences that would inspire me to believe something different than what I thought about myself. This is how I came to find the power in affirmations.

I’d place the affirmation on my bathroom mirror and every time I used the bathroom I’d repeat the affirmation. Often, I’d say it 20 times. I’d hum or sing the affirmation and found that it was quicker and more creative, and the made-up melody to my affirmation created an efficient and powerful belief system. 

Powerful daily affirmations

So, why daily affirmations? Habits are powerful. Reciting daily affirmations trains the brain to expect the power of those words each day. It serves as a time to realign our thoughts and we all know that has to be done daily.  

I try to incorporate my affirmations ideally around the same time each day. It has become part of my morning and evening routine and I also try to recite or sing them when I am washing the dishes, cooking, or running errands.

The habit I developed at 16 years old of writing affirmations and placing them where I could see them has never left me. To this day, I write the affirmations on sticky notes and stick them around the house where I will see them. 

These affirmations are intentionally short. It makes them easy to remember and if I decide to make them in a song, they flow easily. 

Although I quickly memorize them, the step of writing them down is important. Writing and reciting use two different parts of the brain, and my intention is to activate my whole mind to embrace the affirmations. 

I usually have 3-5 affirmations that I will say daily for at least a month. There’s never an exact time when I decide to rotate out, but when I feel that I have internalized it, I will move on to another one that may be more fitting for that season. 

See what resonates with your body. It becomes a mental belief and a physical reset in your body for a new belief system. Combine your brain, your heart and soul, and your physical self into your new belief system.

Affirmations for kids

For children, singing an affirmation to their own made-up tune is more fun than saying an affirmation plainly. They can walk in step to the tune of their affirmation or move their body while singing their affirmation.

Sometimes a child needs to be given a number of how many times to repeat it. You can also set a timer to end the ritual. It becomes a chant and something creative and fun to say. Take liberty in repeating it creatively, flat in tone, or perky with high and low tones. When my children were little, I would tell them to move their bodies with purpose and shake that belief into their bodies.

How to write affirmations for manifestation

There are endless affirmations that you can incorporate into your life, so how do you write affirmations that will lead to manifestation? 

Firstly, take time to reflect. Determine what areas in your life you want to change, and then work backward to find the root cause of it. For example, if you’re consistently late to things and want to change that, go back and discover why. Are you overcommitting and spreading yourself thin? If so, where is the pressure to do that coming from? If it’s to please others, what value do others bring you that you may be dependent on? Maybe at the end, you might arrive at a statement like, “My time is valuable and is a gift.”

Next, be authentic. There are great affirmations that you can find through a Google search. Reading other affirmations can give you ideas on format if you’re stuck, but write your own. Your own words will be truest to you and hold the power it needs to lead to manifestation. 

Lastly, write them in first person form, or “I” form. When you recite the affirmations, it is a declaration, and it should be written in the present. Remember to stay as positive and concise as possible. 

Types of affirmations 

There are affirmations for every area of life.  I have found that my affirmations have fallen into the following categories. These examples are my own and I hope they inspire you to create affirmations that will change your life.

Affirmations for physical health 

– I love my body and all of my curves

– I eat and drink to nourish and fuel my body

– My body is strong and powerful

– Rest is a priority to restore my body

Affirmations for mental health

– I am capable and have the power to control my thoughts

– I am loved and supported

– I choose to be happy today

– I can challenge negative thoughts with positive ones

Affirmations for anxiety

– I can handle anything that’s to come

– This feeling is temporary

– I can rise to the challenge

– I welcome peace and happiness into my day

Affirmations for success

– I am becoming more successful every day

– I surround myself with successful people

– My work brings me satisfaction

– I will successfully create my dream life

Affirmations for children

– My voice matters

– I think positively about others

– I accept myself for who I am

– I am loved 

Affirmations for relationships

– I attract loving and healthy people to my life

– I am grateful for friendship and family

– I love myself and my partner

– I am committed to working on my relationships

Affirmations for overcoming trauma 

– I choose peace and safety today

– I release guilt and shame

– I deserve to enjoy life

– I am strong enough

In closing

Make the process of finding your affirmations fun. Start with one or pick a few. If you are really stressed over it, start with that energy and thought right there. Why am I stressing? Create one like this…I will surrender the stresses of the day, and let myself flow through it. 

Try just one. I’d like to hear how it goes. I’m sincerely curious. Enjoy your day and make it a good one.

For related posts, please check out these past posts:

• Easy & Inexpensive Holiday Traditions
• 10 Ways Travel Healed Me
• How Simple Sticky Notes Changed My Life