Lifestyle self-growth

12 Affirmations to Boost Confidence + Self Esteem

Affirmations to Boost Confidence + Self Esteem

I talk about affirmations quite often, here on the blog. I have a few of them taped to my mirror, I write them out in my journal, read them in the morning. It’s something that has helped me overcome things like self-doubt and also played a huge role in my journey to self-love and acceptance.

Although, I don’t know. “Acceptance” is such a …. neutral word. I like “love” a lot better.

Growing up I often heard things like “try harder” or “not good enough” on daily basis. Words that I often told myself, long after I was done “growing up.” See, things that you repeat to yourself, over and over again, eventually become things that you believe in.

They eventually start limiting you.

Affirmation… what’s that?

Affirmations are short, but powerful statements which describe a goal, in its completed state. That’s probably one of the easiest ways to describe what an affirmation is. Some of the most powerful affirmations follow these two words: I am.

Think about it, how many times a day, do you use these two words: I am? How often is your “I am”, followed by words like beautiful, strong, smart, courageous, brave, healthy?

Nope.

Usually, it’s things like: I am so stupid for doing that or I can’t catch a break or I am so tired of all of this, or I can’t do this. We put so much energy into things we don’t want, things we don’t like. We do the same when it comes to those little inner monologs- we constantly pick on ourselves, put ourselves down. By introducing affirmations into your life/routine, you can start “working” on your self-esteem daily.



How do you use affirmations? However you want. You can read them out loud, you can tweet them, write them out in your journal, use them as a wallpaper on your laptop. I love making my affirmations a part of my morning ritual. You don’t have to necessarily use the affirmations I listed here, you can try creating your own.

-MY LIFE IS FULL OF PURPOSE

-I LIVE MY LIFE ON MY OWN TERMS

-MY POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

-I AM LOVED, I SHINE BRIGHT

-I HONOR MYSELF IN EVERY DECISION I MAKE

-MY CHALLENGES HELP ME GROW

-I AM UNIQUE, NOTHING CAN REPLACE ME

-I DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THINGS I CANNOT CONTROL

-I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL THAT LIFE HAS GIVEN ME

-I HAVE THE POWER TO CREATE CHANGE

I-am-loved-affirmations

-I AM LETTING GO OF EVERYTHING THAT DOES NOT SERVE ME

-I AM MEANT TO HAVE AN AMAZING LIFE

If you’re a skeptic- I get it. I used to think that this whole meditating,  staying positive, gratitude and affirmation exercising, smoothie-drinking lifestyle was for people who don’t have a thing to worry about. People who are already well-off and have everything figured out. Until I realized that when you actually start paying attention to the way you talk to yourself, when you stop focusing on what you don’t want, but instead, put your energy into the things you do want in your life when you appreciate what you have and take a little responsibility, everything changes.

Bring more acceptance and compassionate self-talk to your life. Say nice things to yourself; you’re the only one listening. Tell yourself: I am doing the best I can.”
The way to talk to yourself can make you, or it can break you. You cannot control the way other people talk to you. You can’t “make” others encourage you or motivate you. Things like motivation are things that have to come from within. They have to come from you. Because what you can control, is the way you talk to yourself. You choose what you believe in. Do you want to believe yourself to be weak or average? Or do you want to believe that you have something special, something unique to offer? I think that you’re a lot more special than you’re giving yourself credit for.

Can affirmations alone, change or transform your life? Probably not, but they will help you shift and define your focus and raise your awareness of things like your thoughts or feelings. They will help you pay attention to the way you talk to yourself. That, is the first step to making a change.

Are affirmations a part of your routine?

53 Comments

  • Reply
    Cate Evans
    July 13, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    After a rather crappy afternoon this post is the perfect way to start turning it around. Thank you for sharing all you do, you are wonderfully inspiring.

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 13, 2017 at 3:49 pm

      Sorry to hear you’re not having the best of days, Cate! Hope some of these helped put a smile on your face. Good news is, it’s almost weekend haha ;) Thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind comment! Sending love! x

  • Reply
    Sarah
    July 14, 2017 at 1:55 am

    This post is lovely! I agree that we rarely ever notice the way we talk to ourselves and affirmations definitely help to shift our mindset towards the positive! Thanks Paula! Have a great day!

    Sarah // Beautybyrah

  • Reply
    Linda Libra Loca
    July 14, 2017 at 2:32 am

    No, they aren’t. I made them part of my routine earlier this year, when I did the Get the Glow challenge, but they didn’t stick with me. It still feels strange to tell yourself things like that, which is funny given the fact that I tell my kids positive affirmations on a daily and that feels very natural.

    Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 28, 2017 at 11:26 am

      It feels incredibly strange at first- I admit that! It didn’t really feel natural to me at all, but they made a difference, for sure. x

  • Reply
    Aleksandra // bunniesaremagic
    July 14, 2017 at 3:41 am

    To me the affirmations are just a verbal expression of something much more – an attitude towards life – so if anyone is indeed sceptical towards talking to themselves in the mirror, they should be careful if they are not trivialising a much bigger problem :)

  • Reply
    Natalie Redman
    July 14, 2017 at 4:53 am

    -MY LIFE IS FULL OF PURPOSE

    So true! A lot of people forget that.

    http://www.upyourvlog.com

  • Reply
    MihaBalan
    July 14, 2017 at 7:22 am

    Affirmations are not usually part of my daily routine but they should be. Great tips, thanks for sharing Paula:)

    https://mihabalan.com/2017/07/13/floral-dress-last-updates-bali/

  • Reply
    Sophie
    July 14, 2017 at 7:29 am

    This is so interesting to me because this type of thing is totally not part of my daily routine and in all honesty it’s also something I’ve never even really thought about! I found this post really lovely though, and I absolutely loved this one:
    ‘I honour myself in every decision I make’ (obviously I’m British so I have to add the U haha)
    I can be really guilty of focusing on the negatives and being unkind to myself so maybe introducing affirmations to my routine is something I need to look at. Beautiful post!
    Sophie x

    http://www.sopharsogood.com

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 28, 2017 at 11:29 am

      Thank you so much Sophie! I think we tell ourselves so many negative things, on regular basis, affirmations kind of help you be more self-aware, especially of your self-talk and the way you treat yourself. So glad you enjoyed this post!

  • Reply
    Deanna Marie
    July 14, 2017 at 9:07 am

    Love this post and it’s all so true. Thank you for this!!

    http://www.luxandvitae.com

  • Reply
    Abi Street
    July 14, 2017 at 11:04 am

    This is exactly what I needed to read. My self esteem is so low at the moment so this is the perfect read x

    Abi | abistreetx

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 28, 2017 at 11:30 am

      Aww so sorry to hear that, Abi! Hope you’re feeling better and that this post helped you a bit. Sending love!

  • Reply
    Samantha Frances
    July 14, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    Exactly what I needed to hear today <3 your posts always come at the exact right moment Paula, thank you! xxx
    http://www.samanthafrances.co.uk

  • Reply
    Hannah M.
    July 15, 2017 at 5:19 am

    Thanks for sharing!

    Hannah | Stories Of A Telescope

  • Reply
    aditi@serenesparkle
    July 15, 2017 at 6:51 am

    such a wonderful post :) Thank you!
    http://serenesparkle.blogspot.in/

  • Reply
    Primrose Bigwood
    July 15, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Love this post hun – I’m all for some affirmations and self esteem boosters! x

    http://www.stylepetal.co.uk

  • Reply
    Marissa Kircher
    July 15, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    Great post!

    http://cozy-withcoffee.blogspot.com/

  • Reply
    Rebecca
    July 15, 2017 at 3:31 pm

    I really need to start telling myself affirmations on a daily basis! I have always suffered with confidence issues and anxiety, which comes and goes in waves, and affirmations are perhaps one of the only things that I haven’t really tried my hardest to help with both of those.
    Rebecca ♥

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 28, 2017 at 11:32 am

      I’m familiar with the feeling. It’s funny how the way you feel about yourself can change so quickly. Keep one written down somewhere near where you spend a lot of time- maybe on the mirror, so you can look at it first thing in the morning when you brush your teeth? It could be nice little reminder :)

  • Reply
    Lisa (Soho Stripes)
    July 15, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    I absolutely loved this post. I’ve never even thought of having affirmations as part of my day-to-day but I’m seriously considering it now, so thank you.

    Lisa | Soho Stripes

  • Reply
    DIANA
    July 15, 2017 at 7:52 pm

    Affirmations or one of those things that it’s like “that’s stupid, what’s the point of them?” but then once you start doing it you realize how good it is!!

    https://thedianaediton.com

  • Reply
    Neha Gada
    July 16, 2017 at 12:24 am

    I am still one of those people who doesn’t believe in the whole positive attitude lifestyle just yet. I am trying to change that though xx
    Neha| dreamsandshades.com

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 28, 2017 at 11:34 am

      These can serve as nice little reminders- you can just keep them written down somewhere at first :) I get it though, because I used to feel the same way- it definitely isn’t something that feels very natural at first.

  • Reply
    Kiri Yanchenko
    July 16, 2017 at 12:32 am

    I meditate – however I have never tried affirmations.
    I like the idea of positive thinking though – so maybe affirmations would help me.
    I know having a purpose when starting tasks has helped me a lot.

    Kiri
    Set to Glow
    http://ww.settoglow.com.au

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      July 28, 2017 at 11:34 am

      I think anyone could benefit from using these- even if it’s just writing them down in your journal or something.

  • Reply
    Sinéad Danielle ✿
    July 16, 2017 at 4:15 am

    I absolutely believe that the way you talk to yourself makes a big difference to your outlook. We often don’t even realise what we’re saying to ourselves and before long you start to believe it! I read a quote somewhere saying to talk to yourself as you would to your friend which I think is so true!

    Think I’m going to start writing weekly affirmations into my bullet journal after reading this!

    Sinéad xo Fabuleuse Du Jour

  • Reply
    Serena
    July 16, 2017 at 9:09 am

    I loved this post. It’s so inspiring. You’re definitely right. We are not giving ourselves enough credit these days… x

    http://www.serenbird.com

  • Reply
    Lilian Tahmasian
    July 16, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    love this!! we should read this every morning! <3

    http://www.liliantahmasian.com

  • Reply
    Rosie von Waldherr
    July 17, 2017 at 10:15 am

    I love these and really needed them today!

    LG, Rosie //

  • Reply
    Melina
    July 18, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    I am a true believer of affirmations and the law of attraction. I added all of these affirmations to my bullet journal! These are great things to repeat to oneself on a daily basis xxx

    Melina | http://www.ivefoundwaldo.com

  • Reply
    Racquel Bianca John
    July 25, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    Great read!
    Racquel || http://www.purposely-you.com

  • Reply
    SincerelySarah
    August 8, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    Ooh I like this idea. I’ve not really incorporated affirmations into my life but even just reading through that list, I felt rather empowered! Your outlook is so positive and vibrant. Thank you. x

    Sincerely, Sarah xx
    http://www.sincerelysarah.net

  • Reply
    Yara Mel Rozaay
    August 18, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    Amazing affirmations! Full of positivety !!

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