How to Write Affirmations that Work

Have you ever had this thought?

“Affirmations don’t work!”

Yeah, meeeee tooooo.

I thought affirmations were just this fluffy way of pretending to be super positive and I didn't want anything to do with them.

But then I learned a new way to craft them that showed me affirmations are the best tool for rewiring my inner critic and today I'm sharing what I learned with you. 

Affirmations can feel fickle, funny, and out of reach. They can seem stupid and a waste of time. Those are all normal reactions to affirmations and that just means no one taught you how to write them in a way that supports you and that's not your fault. 

You think an affirmation needs to start with “I am” and though affirmations can start with those two words, that's the hardest phrase to begin with when you're new to affirmations. 

When you say “I am” your mind will resist it, unless you already believe the statement to be true. 

So if you’re saying “I am a millionaire” when you only have $1,000 in the bank, your mind is going to reject that statement and your affirmation will not work. 

If there's strong doubt, resistance or hesitation then your mind is just going to be like, “nope this is total BS.”

The other thing to keep in mind is making it personal to you. 

That means the right affirmation for you will likely sound confusing or ridiculous to everyone else. 

That's a good thing when it comes to affirmations, you want them to be yours, not someone else's. 

How do you write affirmations that work?

1. Start with what's blocking you

➡️ Grab a piece of paper and brainstorm 3 things that your inner critic says to you on repeat. 

Yes, it’s gonna feel crappy to write those down AND it’s going to feel good to get them out of your head and onto paper. 

➡️ Pick 1 of those 3 things, I recommend the one that your inner critic says most often. 

Now go to step two so you can feel better! 

2. Rephrase your block

➡️ Take your inner critic phrase (your block) and change the words. 

Change it from something negative dragging you down to something that's positive that feels supportive and encouraging. 

We're not ignoring any of the negativity or feelings that you're feeling. Your feelings are real and important. 

What we're doing is teaching your brain to work WITH your inner critic so that you can move past all the BS that it throws at you and become the person you want to be. 

When you rewrite your block you want it to be something you almost believe, meaning you think it might be true. 

Those are the affirmations with the most sticking power, the ones you almost believe. 

They give you space to grow. It’s ok to feel a bit doubtful. 

➡️For example let's change the block, “my words don't matter”

What’s the opposite of that? 

“My words are important” 

or 

“It's okay to share my thoughts” 

or 

“It's safe to speak up” 

or 

“It's okay to ask for what I want”

➡️ Brainstorm 5 phrases that are the opposite of what your inner critic says on repeat. Write them down. 

➡️ Circle the one that sounds best to you. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to feel better than what your inner critic is telling you. 

➡️ Do a mini celebration 🎉 like high fiving yourself in the mirror because you just wrote an affirmation that can work for you! 

3. Reinforce your affirmation

➡️ Create a daily practice to reinforce your new affirmation. 

When you repeat your affirmation to yourself you reinforce its power to change your mind for the better. 

Your daily practice doesn't need to be complicated, it can be simple and feel easy. 

➡️ There are a few ways that work for most folks, which one of these sounds best to you?

• Write your affirmation on a sticky note and put it in a place you’ll see it every day, like your computer.

• Write it on your bathroom mirror with window crayons. 

• Write it in a journal each morning when you get up (that’s what I do). 

• Write it in a journal right before you go to bed. 

• Say it out loud or silently to yourself when you wake up in the morning. 

• Say it out loud or silently to yourself when you climb into bed for the night. 

➡️ Which one feels easiest to you?

➡️ Try that on for three days and notice what happens. 

Now the magic begins. 

The more you practice your affirmation, the easier it is to believe it. 

When you fully believe your affirmation, that's when it's time to choose a new one.

Feeling stuck on crafting your affirmations? 

Journaling is my go-to-tool for unpacking my inner crictic’s thoughts and rewriting them into affirmations.

Get The Thoughtful Journaling Guide with my simple five step process to take your journaling from dreaded chore to deeply satisfying practice. Get the Guide Here.  

​You have magic ✨ inside you and the power to grow into the person you secretly dream about being. 

Let that hidden version of you find their voice, the version of yourself that you hid from for decades. Journaling is the key to finding yourself. Get the Thoughtful Journaling Guide and unlock your hidden self. 

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