Do affirmations really have the power to change our lives? A practice of creating and reciting positive statements in order to manifest or affirm a positive reality, affirmations have been used in spiritual practice for a long time. They are also integral to many therapeutic practices, such as Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping therapy), and becoming more common in clinical therapies like CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Because neuroscientific research confirms that affirmations work. Using an affirmative statement such as “my life is joyful” as part of a personal practice can, it seems, make life more joyful. To understand how, it helps to know about neuroplasticity. 

A primer on neuroplasticity

The brain is made of billions of nerve cells, or neurons, which work together to form thoughts and trigger processes in the body. Information is passed from neuron to neuron by the thousands of synapses that connect them. The experiences you have and the things you learn shape these neural connections or pathways. It means that what you know and how you behave comes down to the neural pathways that have formed in your individual brain. If you have a fear of spiders, for example, it’s because a specific neural pathway has formed between seeing a spider and danger. Overcoming that fear involves creating a new neural pathway that diverts away from the concept of danger. This change is what neuroplasticity refers to – the malleability of the brain that enables you to learn new things, form new habits, and come to new understandings. It is what’s known as “rewiring the mind” and affirmations are a way to change neural pathways in the brain for positive ends. Self-affirmation theory has found it to be very effective.

About self-affirmation theory 

Research on self-affirmation has found that the practice broadens self-concept. This in turn increases resilience in the face of challenging situations, which creates a more positive experience – leading to further positive outcomes. When you affirm the values you want to embody more strongly, such as “I am smart”, you build a deeper association between your understanding of yourself and those values. You strengthen the neural pathway that connects “me” with being smart, and eventually bypass any negative connections like “I am stupid” altogether. This upgrade in self-regard then shifts how you are showing up, allowing for your smartest ideas to be projected. The more you experience yourself as someone who is “smart”, the more other people will as well. As well as changing behavior, decreasing stress, and improving performance, affirmations can help you feel more secure in yourself and therefore less threatened by external circumstances. 

How to work with affirmations

The simplest way to work with an affirmation is to repeat it regularly – repetition is a common way to learn and form neural pathways. Think about the negative areas of your self-concept and come up with a statement that affirms the opposite. This involves exploring the mean things that your inner critic tells you regularly, and formulating a response that defends you from this internal bullying. Now write this response down, and come back to it as often as you can. You could make a practice of saying the affirmation five times when you wake up every morning, or stick a post-it on the bathroom mirror. You can also incorporate it into a meditation practice, using the affirmation as your point of focus, or repeating it with each breath. You could even turn it into a silly song that makes you smile when you sing it – some studies show that experiencing positive feelings like gratitude and joy can help neuroplasticity work faster. See the examples below for ideas, but affirmations have more power when they are personal. Keep them simple and specific to your own life and the challenges you are experiencing. When you choose to change the limiting beliefs you hold about yourself, you’ll be surprised at what follows. 

Affirmation examples

I am brave.

I am enough.

I am beautiful.

My life is joyful.

I am always able to provide for myself.

I trust my own unique path.

I have valuable skills.

I deserve to be loved.

I welcome the unknown.

I accept what is out of my control.

I am at peace with my decisions. 

Interested in trying out some affirmations, but need a little support? Check out our range of affirmations-based meditations in our meditation library by clicking here!

All of the content on our website is thoroughly researched to ensure that the information shared is evidence-based. For more information, please visit the academic journals that influenced this article: Self-Affirmations Provide a Broader Perspective on Self-Threat; Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving Under Stress; Harnessing neuroplasticity for clinical applications; Upward Spirals of Positive Emotions Counter Downward Spirals of Negativity: Insights from the Broaden-and-Build Theory and Affective Neuroscience on The Treatment of Emotion Dysfunctions and Deficits in Psychopathology.