Affirmations for self-confidence.

How affirmations build self-confidence and why it's important.

One of the reasons why we lack self-confidence is the habitual, negative self-talk that goes on inside of our heads.  What can help curb or eliminate this are affirmations that build self-confidence.

Affirmations are powerful statements that help you help you reshape the way you think.  Positive affirmations can help you build your self-esteem, self-worth, and set a path that leads you to personal success and happiness.

It's not always an easy task, though, especially if you've been telling yourself the same story over and over again.  I'm definitely guilty of this.

It's not impossible, however, because positive affirmations can help you override long-standing, limiting beliefs that have been controlling the way you think, behave, and act.

In the beginning, it might feel like a struggle, but with time and consistent effort, you too will start to feel more positive emotions that will only build on each other.

And even when you face adversity as you go through life, you'll have the internal resources to pull from to get you through life's challenges and come out stronger and more confident.

Read along to learn what it means to have confidence, why affirmations are important for building self-confidence, and how to create and use positive affirmations to build your confidence every day.

Affirmations for self-confidence.

What does it mean to have self-confidence?

Confidence can be a a personality trait, innate ability, or a skill that you build over time.

Self-confidence is the belief and trust that you have in yourself and your capabilities to help you succeed in your endeavors.  Here is a little excerpt from an article in Psychology Today to help illustrate:

Projecting confidence helps people gain credibility, make a strong impression, deal with pressure, and tackle personal and professional challenges.  It's also an attractive trait, as confidence helps put others at ease.

People who exude confidence are perceived as more attractive and better able to deal with whatever life may throw at them.

According  to the studies, people who are self-confident:

  • Are happier.
  • Have better cognitive performance.
  • Have greater psychological wellbeing.
  • Are more self-aware.
  • Have greater recognition of their own abilities.
  • Are more aware of their self-interests.
  • Take more risks.
  • Feel supported.
  • Feel secure.
  • Are realistic about their accomplishments.
  • Feel less anxious under pressure.
  • Are able to take criticism and use it as a tool to improve their lives.
  • Have had a confidence-building event in their life, e.g. learning a new skill.
  • Enhance their performance as a result of a previous accomplishment.

When you lack self-confidence, you:

  • Have self-doubt.
  • Feel anxious.
  • Are fearful.
  • Underestimate yourself.
  • Have trust issues.
  • Feel insecure.
  • Put up defenses.

Having too much confidence in yourself can make you:

  • Overestimate your abilities.
  • Arrogant
  • Narcissistic
  • Conceited

In her Ted Talk on confidence, activist Brittany Packnett said that confidence helps bring dreams into reality.  She said having confidence in yourself allows you to operate with certainty.

People tend to perform better when they're sure about themselves.  If you're not confident in yourself, you're less likely to pursue your dreams, achieve your goals, take risks, and go after what you want.

Confidence can be built and strengthened over time, just like your muscles.  One way you can do this is through positive self-affirmations.

Confidence is the necessary spark before everything that follows." - Brittany Packnett

Why positive affirmations are important for confidence building.

We have about 6,200 thoughts per day, according to a study.  If most are your thoughts are negative, it can have detrimental effects on your health,  like decreased immunity and increased negative mood.

Therefore, it's important to be aware of your thoughts so you can cultivate a positive mindset and increase your self-confidence.

One way you can boost your self-confidence is through self-affirmations.

Self-affirmations are phrases or acts that affirm a person's self-worth and self-esteem.  They enable you to override limiting beliefs, change your mindset, and create empowering core beliefs.

Positive affirmations pave the way for success and happiness in your life by rerouting the narrative in your mind and directing the trajectory of your thoughts and behavior.

Studies have shown that positive self-affirmations help reduce the effects of negative emotions by deflecting a person's focus away from a perceived threat.

For example, if you have to make a speech for the first time in front of a large crowd and you're fearful, positive, self-affirmations can help boost your confidence and decrease your perception of your fear.

The other benefits of self-affirmations:

  • Decreased stress.
  • Increased well-being.
  • Improved academic performance.
  • Openness to behavior change.
  • A broadened perspective of the self.
  • Reduced reactivity to a threat.
  • Protection of overall psychological well-being.
  • Better able to self-regulate emotions.
  • Able to facilitate difficult emotions.

Reflecting on personal core values, rewarding past experiences, and personal successes, are useful in creating self-affirmations.

How to create positive affirmations to boost your self-confidence.

If you want to boost your confidence through self-affirmations, you need to identify the areas of your life you want to change.  You can do this through awareness and self-inquiry.

Observe what you want to change by becoming aware of your behavior and keeping track of your emotions.  Most likely, the things you want to change about yourself are limiting beliefs and negative thoughts.

Once you identify your limiting beliefs or any negative thought patterns, write them down. Here are some examples of limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns:

  • I am not good enough.
  • I don't deserve success.
  • It's pointless to even try.
  • If things don't turn out the way I want, I'm a failure.
  • People won't like me.

After you identify your limiting beliefs, you can lessen their grip on your system by creating positive self-affirmations.  This part is a bit tricky and can take some time because beliefs that are buried in your subconscious usually don't disappear overnight.

You can create positive affirmations by reflecting on your core values, past experiences that were happy & joyful, the times that you accomplished something, and moments you felt successful.

Write down what happened and what you felt.  Then craft your own positive self-affirmations from the things you wrote down.  Make sure your affirmations are specific and in the present tense.  For example:

  • I am courageous
  • I am kind.
  • I love myself for who I am.

I have more examples of positive affirmations in the section: 31 positive affirmations to build self-confidence.

Be sure you connect with your self-affirmations emotionally and believe in them so they are effective at building your self-confidence.  Believing that you are confident is not only uplifting, but it makes you seem more competent to others.

When to use positive affirmations.

Practice your affirmations regularly so that your confidence can grow.

Each time you say a positive affirmation to yourself, you create neural pathways that light up the reward section of your brain.  So you want to use them every time you need them.

You can say them any time you're feeling low, scared, rejected, need to lift your spirits up, and even every day!

Saying a positive affirmation might feel strange at first and it might be a while before you start to truly feel them and believe in them.

So I would highly recommend that you keep track of your emotions in a journal to see how you're progressing, in addition to practicing them regularly.

"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief.  And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen." - Muhammad Ali

31 positive affirmations to boost your self-confidence.

Here are 31 positive affirmations that you can use any time to build your self-confidence.

  1. I am worthy.
  2. I am competent.
  3. I am more than enough.
  4. I love and respect myself.
  5. I accept myself where I am right now.
  6. I have radiant health in mind, body, and spirit.
  7. I have joy and happiness inside of this moment.
  8. I have something valuable to contribute to the world.
  9. Everything thing I do adds to my knowledge and experience.
  10. I trust my instincts will lead the way to my success.
  11. People value my expertise and opinions.
  12. I deserve success and happiness.
  13. I have within me everything I need to thrive.
  14. I can handle any situation that comes my way.
  15. Opportunities open up for me at the right moment.
  16. I express gratitude for all the opportunities that come my way.
  17. I love new experiences and learning opportunities.
  18. I am open to learning from others.
  19. Everyone is my teacher.
  20. Light and love shine from within me.
  21. I see the path of my life with clarity.
  22. I have a bright and delightful future.
  23. My potential is limitless and constantly growing.
  24. I trust that every action I take leads to my personal success.
  25. I continually reap the wonderful fruits of my efforts.
  26. My light inspires others to shine their inner light.
  27. There is abundance everywhere I look.
  28. My mind is sharp and brilliant.
  29. I have positive, vibrant energy.
  30. I am powerful beyond measure.
  31. I listen when my body needs to rest and recharge.

The bottom line on self-confidence affirmations.

Self-confidence is not something that comes naturally for many people.  This doesn't mean that it can't be learned.  One powerful but simple way to build self-confidence is through positive self-affirmations.

Positive self-affirmations are esteem-building practices that can be used to boost confidence, self-worth, and self-love.  They are also helpful in overriding limiting beliefs, a source of strength when you're feeling low, and are known to boost your overall health and well-being.

Self-affirmations may feel strange at first, but with time and practice, they will become second nature and feel very real and true for you.

I hope you found these tips to build your self-confidence with affirmations helpful.  Do you have any tips that you want to share?  Please let me know in the comments below!