21 Positive Affirmations to Boost Your Creative Confidence.
(read time about 6 minutes)
WHAT ARE AFFIRMATIONS?
Affirmations are positive statements to boost your self-confidence and help counteract your negative, inner critical self-talk.
Affirmations help shift your mindset towards feeling better about yourself and creating a more optimistic outlook on life.
It's normal to automatically focus on what you don't want. Our minds are naturally programmed this way. Safety first, and happiness second!
The brain is always looking out for danger and is being super helpful by noticing possible problems that might lie ahead. For example, I don't want to fail, I don't want to attract criticism, or I don't want to take a risk. It's all fear talk.
By using self-affirmations you let your brain know what you DO want, a reminder of your skills, and your natural strengths to draw upon.
It's a bit like a compass with your thoughts as the needle. If you want to go in the direction of true north, you need to turn the needle in the direction of true north; away from where you don't want to be and towards your ideal destination. Your thoughts guide the compass needle in the direction you want to go and help keep you focused on getting there.
FIND
YOUR
TRUE
NORTH
HOW TO USE AFFIRMATIONS
Think about what you want, really want. Is it more inspiration, productivity, clarity, focus, sales, or motivation?
Set time aside each day to do them.
Say affirmations out loud.
Repeat several times during the day.
Use the present tense.
Don't highlight the negative, but focus on the positive instead.
Keep it real.
Choose meaningful statements that are personal to you.
Repeat often, as the repetition of affirmations leads to building self-belief that you can do it and make things happen.
Be patient.
*Take note, self-affirmations need to be POSITIVE, PRESENT, and PERSONAL!
GET STARTED WITH THESE
21 EMPOWERING AFFIRMATIONS
TO BOOST YOUR CREATIVE CONFIDENCE
_____
I say YES to new creative challenges with confidence, enthusiasm, and eagerness.
I bravely make bolder artistic choices and create without compromise.
Creativity is my medicine! Every day I take my prescription boost of exploration, curiosity, and pleasure.
I love spending time on my creative projects as it is time well spent.
I am a creative being and embrace my creative self wholeheartedly.
I create magic through my making.
I effortlessly step into my creative flow and trust my intuition to guide me.
I am a powerhouse of self-expression and love sharing my inner vision with others.
I value my creations and don't need to justify their existence to anyone.
My inner critic is a jerk and killjoy. It can take a hike and leave me in peace to enjoy my art for the pure pleasure of making art for art's sake.
I see progress over perfection and enjoy the action of perfecting my artistic skills.
I am open to exploring my highest creative potential and can only wonder where this exploration will take me.
I keep going when things get messy and fall apart in the middle of projects. It is normal. I am eager to see how they will reform in new and exciting ways.
I am comfortable with uncertainty and welcome self-doubt as proof of my creative development.
I reach for my creative dreams with an abundance of self-belief, optimism, and conviction.
I am a daring and innovative creator.
I fearlessly break through creative blocks to be in free-flow inspiration again.
My imagination is unlimited and knows no bounds.
I have to create! There is no other option, as life is so much better, brighter, and more vibrant because of it.
I have awesome ideas and give room for them to grow. With patience, I am curious to see which ones will take root and grow.
I am an unstoppable force of creativity, and each day I stay positive, productive, proactive, and pleased with my progress.
THE BENEFITS OF AFFIRMATIONS
Repeating an affirmation can help boost your motivation and confidence, but remember you still have to take some action.
Wishful thinking is just wishful thinking without action. Try thinking of affirmations as a step toward change, not the change itself.
Self-affirmations can help encourage your possibility thinking and turn you away from the limiting beliefs that keep you stuck. It reminds you of your opportunities and the self-belief that your skills and talents can be improved over time.
When voiced, affirmations can be internalised to become your own automatic inner self-talk.
+Now it's time to make your own. You can use the above affirmations as a starting point. How would you change them to fit your situation?
STARTING AN AFFIRMATION JOURNAL
An affirmation journal, whether on paper or digitally, is helpful to collect your affirmations in one place.
But before you do this, it is a good idea to become aware of your inner critic. Once you have done so, you can use this information to transform the automatic negative self-talk into more helpful and optimistic statements.
WRITE
IT
DOWN
EXCERCISE
For a couple of hours, whilst you work, note down the automatic self-talk that occurs. The critical words that say to yourself, like 'this is rubbish', 'it not perfect', or 'I can't do this'.
Start to notice the regular culprits, themes or patterns of your automatic negative self-talk that occur.
The next step is to turn these negative statements into more helpful language that makes you feel more confident.
For example:
'It's not good enough' to 'I am doing the best I can and I actively look for ways to improve my work'
'I might fail' to 'I welcome the possibility of succeeding'.
'I can't do this' to 'I feel brave in taking small steps towards my goals and focus my attention on what needs to be done in the now'.
This will help stop the automatic self-judgements in its tracks and become your own cheerleader.
Negative self-talk will always be present, but you don't have to act on it. You can hear it, then choose what you want to do.
You can either believe it and do something that moves you away from your best intentions. Or, do something that moves you towards your ideal creative hopes.
ALWAYS
CHOOSE
THE
TOWARDS ACTION!
I hope you enjoy making your affirmations.
Have fun with them, see it as a creative project in its own right, and practice over the next 21 days to see what happens.
Do you feel more positive, focused, or inspired? You've got nothing to lose by giving it a go.