Why do you need positive affirmations for self esteem? To completely understand this we need to understand what is self esteem and what are the factors for a low self esteem. Once we understand the reason, we can work our way to boost our confidence with the list of positive self affirmations.
What is Self-Esteem ?
In simplistic terms, self-esteem is confidence in one?s own worth or abilities. It is the regard for one?s self-worth and self-respect. It is believing in yourself and having faith in your abilities.
Norman Vincent Peale says,
Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
It is true at so many levels. If we do not respect ourselves for who we are then a sense of inferiority and inadequacy fills our life.
Self esteem is a direct result of self confidence which comes from self-realization.
People turn to their friends, family and in many cases to strangers to validate their ideas, opinions, and goals. By looking for external validation, we often give the token of self esteem in other?s hands. Our every move is in accordance to make others feel good about ourselves.
Why positive affirmations for self esteem?
To accept the beauty and uniqueness of who you are is a magical thing. To boost your self esteem, you need to change how you feel about yourself.
It starts with you.
When you keep repeating negative things about yourself that you are no good, then this message gets passed to your subconscious. Now subconscious manifests whatever it receives. As a result, you will keep running into situations which will shake your belief in your abilities.
Read the complete guide on subconscious mastery
You are jeopardizing your own good when you talk about yourself ( even casually) in a negative manner.
Ponder over these questions ?
Do you often turn to your parents, friends, office colleagues or others to validate yourself or your ideas?
Do you feel anxious about starting a new business, a conversation, a relationship?
Is it that you blame yourself for the mistakes that happened in your life?
Are you confident about every decision that you are about to make?
Do you feel happy, content and full of enthusiasm all the time or just the opposite?
Above questions are not an exhaustive list but if you even remotely agree to one of the above questions then it means that you are running low on self esteem in some or the other area. It is here that practicing positive affirmations for self esteem will come to your rescue.
The affirmations, when practiced with full faith and conviction, will instil a new belief in yourself. You will realize that you are doing the best you can and that the universe is in a conspiracy to make you succeed.
The proof that affirmations works
This practice is no longer a hypothesis.It has been researched and validated by leading researcher and institutes alike.
In a recent study, a set of published studies suggests that a brief self affirmation activity at the beginning of a school term can boost academic grade-point averages in underperforming kids at the end of the semester,? said Creswell, assistant professor of psychology at Carnegie Melon University.
Read the full article ? benefits of Self Affirmations
Also, the medical stream has identified that our brain continues to create new neurons throughout our lives and the ability to reorganize our wiring is called neuroplasticity.
It means that it is never too late to change. We can adopt new skills, alter old habits and create new ones. We can rewire our brain with new beliefs.
Read more on positive self-affirmations and Neuroplasticity
How suggestions since childhood damage self esteem?
We have received inputs and suggestions from our friends, family, teachers, and relative since our childhood. Our beliefs and values are a result of a confluence of suggestions by people around us.
Think for a moment. Our food habit, dressing style, the idea of a religion and even our self-worth is a direct result of what we see around us.
Specific incidents that happened to us at an early age have an effect on how we feel about ourselves and our perception of our self-worth.
Our negative and disempowering beliefs are a result of these deep-rooted ideas in our subconscious. These, however, can re-programmed by adopting positive affirmations for self esteem.
Read more on Reprogramming the subconscious
Stand guard to some of the common negative talks that we casually do:
My life is a mess, I don?t look good, I?ll never lose weight, Everyone hates me, I am stuck in my life, I hate my job, I hate my manager, I am covered in debts, I?m not capable enough.
Do these statements sound familiar?
People use such phrases very casually without realizing the catastrophic damage that they incur in their lives.
Whenever you find such negative thoughts haunting you, acknowledge them and turn them into positive affirmations.
I am guided by the divine and I am where I am supposed to be,
My life is wonderful gift and I must enjoy it,
I look amazing and my smile is the best dress,
I am in full control of what I eat,
My body is a sacred place and I?ll keep it clean and in shape,
My job provides financial stability that my family needs,
I love what I do,
I do what I am good at,
I am blessed with financial abundance,
I am the best at what I do
How I improved my driving and became a compassionate brother and how you can too?
It is important that you repeat affirmations at least three to four times. There is no fixed formula. I do it whenever I find myself lacking in a particular area.
Repeat the words with full conviction and emotions and you will notice a visible change in how you feel and act.
For instance, I knew to drive but was not particularly confident while driving. I always feared the worst every time I took the car out. The funny part is that I was very careful and people complimented on how I drove.
Then I took the help of affirmations and every time before firing the ignition, I would quietly repeat to myself three ?four times, ?I am a pro driver?. It was all I needed. Slowly, I got over the anxiety resulting from driving.
The second area where I implemented this habit was to improve relations.
I love my younger brother. I absolutely do. But, my job was taking a toll on me and I came back exhausted and with a short temper. As a result, I would often shout at him or say things that would hurt him. I immediately felt bad for my behavior but there is nothing much you can do once you show your ugly side.
I decided to take action and repeated the following words whenever I felt, I was about to lose my cool.
?I am a compassionate and a loving brother. I receive love and radiate it back manifold?.
These simple words had a magical effect and would put off any temptation to emotionally hurt my bro.
Also, whenever you run into a situation where you are feeling stressed or tensed, repeat an affirmation such as, ?I feel calm and relaxed? for a couple of minutes and you will find yourself regaining your composure.
How does self affirmations work ?
Thorough research and studies have revealed that repeating the affirmations multiple times in a day, you slowly start developing a sense of belief in those words.
When you speak, you listen, when you listen you believe and when you repeat this enough, a new neural pathway is created for the new found belief.
Repeat the affirmations in front of mirror by looking into your eyes. Your eyes reflect the strength of your soul.
This is how you reprogram your subconscious with new empowering beliefs that boost your self esteem and change the way you behave.
Take benefit from the list of Positive Affirmations for Self Esteem :
- I love and accept myself for who I am.
- I radiate and receive love and respect.
- I am loved and respected wherever I go.
- I am unique in my talents and abilities and do not validation from others.
- People see value in my services and I am rewarded graciously.
- I am self-reliant, creative and persistent in whatever I do.
- I deserve all that is good
- I am grateful for all the wonderful things in my life
- I am full of loving, healthy, positive and prosperous thoughts which eventually convert into my life experiences.
- I am unique and my dreams and aspirations are unique to myself. I do not need to prove myself to anyone.
- I am solution driven. Every problem is a chance to grow.
- I am never alone in my pursuit of success. The universe supports me in expected and unexpected ways.
- I am not a prisoner of the past and live only in the moment. That way I enjoy life to the fullest.
- I am not a Tree and have the power to change myself how I see fit.
- Only I am responsible for making my choices and decisions.
- I am not selfish in giving priority to my desires.
- Every moment brings us a choice and I choose happiness no matter what my circumstances.
- I am flexible and open to new experiences.
- I think positively and expect the best.
- I am aware of my strength and act with confidence.
- I can identify my skill gap and act on it.
- Life is beautiful and rewarding.
- Universe blesses me with health, happiness and abundance.
- I appreciate the things I have. I rejoice in the love I receive.
- I am courageous. My eyes reflect the strength of my soul.
- I am positive and optimistic. The universe conspires to make me successful.
- I am passionate about what I do and that reflects by the enthusiasm in my work.
- I attract positive and helping people into my life.
- I am open to meeting people and create positive and supportive relationships.
- I radiate love and inspire people.
- I am calm and peaceful.
- I take time to enjoy the little joys of life.
- I am in full control of my life and in complete harmony with the universe.
I hope this article help you to understand the true essence of affirmations. Use the above list of positive affirmations for self esteem to boost your confidence whenever you feel a little low. I use them to recharge my soul the same way I charge my cell phones.
Stay Blessed
