I hope this week has been good to you so far and if it hasn’t, remember that today is a new day and another opportunity to experience everything new. You have control over your mindset and your attitude so resolve now to make this a great week. Start by returning to gratitude and affirming that today is going to be a great day, and continue to renew that belief every morning.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, I wanted to address the importance of reinforcing your sense of self-identity and having confidence in yourself and your abilities. As many are celebrating romance and love this coming week, it can be easy to feel lonely and insecure. Even if you’re not alone, remember that how you feel about yourself is what’s most important and no one can change how you perceive yourself without you giving them that power.
Affirmations can be very useful for boosting your self-esteem, but it is essential, according to self-affirmation theory, that your affirmations reflect your core personal values in order to do so. There is little point in repeating something that’s not meaningful to you or doesn’t align with your own sense of what you believe to be good, moral, and important.
To have any kind of impact on your self-esteem, your self-affirmations should be positively focused on reinforcing your sense of self-identity. Use your real strengths, or qualities that you believe are important, to guide your affirmations.
In an article published in the Annual Review of Psychology on “Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention,” it is demonstrated how the use of self-affirmations are effective in maintaining the integrity of the self and in increasing a sense of personal adequacy, as well as having lasting benefits. When you affirm your core values, even when things go wrong in your life, your self-esteem does not suffer. When you believe in yourself and don’t tie your worth to things outside of yourself and the innate qualities you possess, your self-image can continue to be enhanced and your confidence continue to grow at all times.
Affirmations to Boost Your Confidence and Self-Esteem:
- I am full of love.
- I value myself.
- I believe in my abilities.
- I can achieve everything I desire.
- Every day I become a better version of myself.
- I am grateful for how far I’ve come and all I’ve been through.
- I let go of my insecurities.
- I am resilient and brave.
- I am kind and loving to myself and others.
- I deserve to feel good about myself.
- My mood does not depend on other peoples’ opinions.
- I embrace my flaws and imperfections.
- I love who I am.
- I let go of people and situations that don’t make me happy.
- Every day I see everything new.
- My peace and happiness are important.
- I celebrate every win in my life and have so much to be grateful for.
- I am loved for who I am.
- I have the right to feel confident.
- I accept myself exactly as I am.
No matter what your relationship status is or Valentine’s plans are, start practicing gratitude for yourself and showing appreciation for the qualities you have. You have come so far and should be proud of the progress you’ve made. Fill yourself with love and share it with those around you. Find excitement and inspiration in the life you get to live. Romanticize the mundane and see the beauty in that which you so casually overlook. Buy yourself flowers and treat yourself however you prefer, not just on Valentine’s Day, but any day you please, because you are always worth celebrating. Tell your friends you love them, call your family and tell them you’re thankful for them, plan a special evening with your partner, or write a thoughtful note to someone you care about, without needing a special occasion to do so. Love is always worth celebrating.
Find more affirmations to increase confidence, appreciate who you are, develop courage, and so much more on the Selfpause app, or use the app to write and record your own affirmations!
