There are moments in life when one feels unconfident, overwhelmed, or anxious. You might start doubting yourself and your capabilities. This becomes an even tougher situation when you are simultaneously required to perform, be it an exam, a football match, or even a date. This article will introduce you to a tool that is effective in tackling anxiety and the feeling that you are not good enough or that you cannot do it. It will help instil confidence, enabling you to be the best version of yourself. This tool is called ‘self-affirmation’.
Self-affirmation is the process of communicating with oneself in an affirmative manner. Essentially telling yourself something that you believe to be true or that you want to be true. For example, you may tell yourself that, ‘I am smart’ or ‘I am good looking’.
However, self-affirmations aren’t always positive. More often than not, we indulge in negative self-affirmations that can be detrimental to our well being.
This article will explore self-affirmations, how to use them, and also how to tackle negative affirmations.
How to effectively use positive self-affirmations
Though the idea of telling yourself ‘I am capable’ may seem strange to you at first, it is a very effective technique with scientific backing and wide usage in psychology and therapy. However, this isn’t a technique to be used in just extreme conditions of anxiety or stress but something you can use in your day-to-day life and when you’re feeling low.
Essentially you are affirming to yourself, ‘I am xyz’, where xyz can be any desirable trait such as kind, caring, capable, prepared, confident, good-looking, intelligent, etc. Just saying it once isn’t enough, you will need to repeat the same to yourself multiple times- 5, 10, or even 50 times, based on how you’re feeling at the time.
Self-Affirmation Techniques
There are broadly 3 techniques to use self-affirmations
Thought based affirmations - This is the simplest form, You think these affirmations in your mind.
Verbal affirmations - Instead of just thinking, you actually say the affirmation to yourself, out loud.
Written affirmations - Here, you write the affirmations on a piece of paper, multiple times. It’s more effective to write than to type.
You can utilize any of the other three forms. You should try out all three and see what works best for you. Ideally, use verbal/written affirmations as they are more effective than solely thinking them.
Countering negative self-affirmations
Unknowingly, many of us enter into a cycle of negative self-affirmations. We end up telling ourselves that ‘I am not good enough’ or ‘I am not smart enough’ or ‘I cannot do this’. The more we tell this to ourselves, the more power we give to these patterns of thoughts and the more detrimental they become for us. It is important to counter such negative self-affirmations to unlock your path to success.
First, you need to become aware of when you are indulging in such negative thoughts. Once you realize that you are negatively affirming yourself, you need to immediately counter it with positive affirmations, in greater magnitude and intensity.
Conclusion
The key to utilizing positive self-affirmations is to believe in them. As you tell yourself that ‘Yes, I’ve got this’, believe in it more and more as you repeat it to yourself. Try it out and see the impact for yourself. It doesn’t require a lot of time or practice, unlike many other techniques, but it has been known to improve one’s confidence and self-esteem, as well as performance in high-stakes situations.
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