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99 Affirmations For Self-Love + How To Use Them Properly

Sarah Regan
Author:
February 20, 2023
Sarah Regan
mbg Spirituality & Relationships Editor
By Sarah Regan
mbg Spirituality & Relationships Editor
Sarah Regan is a Spirituality & Relationships Editor, and a registered yoga instructor. She received her bachelor's in broadcasting and mass communication from SUNY Oswego, and lives in Buffalo, New York.
February 20, 2023
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You've likely heard of positive affirmations, but if you're new to the concept, the idea that saying a few sentences can magically make you feel amazing may sound too good to be true. While that's not exactly how affirmations work, they can definitely be effective, especially if you're looking to boost your self-love.

Here's why affirmations are so powerful, a huge list of daily self-love affirmations to try, and tips on how to get started with an affirmation practice.

Why you should do affirmations for self-love.

Self-love affirmations are positive phrases that are meant to inspire, uplift, and bolster feelings of self-love within.

They can be particularly helpful if you deal with insecurities and self-criticism because according to therapist Megan Bruneau, M.A., when done correctly, "self-love affirmations can help reprogram the subconscious mind, where we house our unhelpful core beliefs—such as, I'm unlovable, or When people see the real me, they'll abandon me."

As licensed marriage and family therapist Tiana Leeds, M.A., LMFT, explains to mindbodygreen, the truth is, our brains are wired with a negativity bias that serves as a survival strategy to identify threats. "However," she notes, "it has significant drawbacks when it comes to self-love, and by weaving affirmations into your day, you are combating this negativity bias and rewiring your brain toward more helpful thought patterns."

Think of self-love affirmations like training your brain to come back to your values and what you love about yourself, Leeds says. The more you do it, the easier it will be to "naturally feel a sense of worthiness and ease," she explains.

Through the conscious practice of reprogramming, Bruneau adds, "we can rewire our neural pathways to default to a more self-compassionate and self-confident baseline."

99 affirmations for self love:

  1. I am confident
  2. I am intelligent
  3. I am loving
  4. I am courageous 
  5. I am imperfect, like everyone else, and that's OK
  6. I deserve love and partnership
  7. I am generous
  8. I am thoughtful
  9. I am strong
  10. I am beautiful
  11. I am—and will always be—a work in progress
  12. My relationship to myself is entirely up to me
  13. I feel good about who I am
  14. I pursue my goals
  15. I am creating the life I desire
  16. I get to decide how I treat myself today and every day
  17. I have people in my life who deeply care about me
  18. I welcome good things into my life
  19. I cannot control my external environment, but I can control how I respond internally
  20. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be
  21. Everything is unfolding exactly as it should
  22. I am worthy of fun
  23. I am worthy of connection
  24. I am worthy of rest
  25. I am worthy of peace
  26. I am worthy of health
  27. I am worthy of the life I desire
  28. I am worthy of success
  29. I am perfect as I am today, and there is still room for growth
  30. I accept there may always be parts of myself I'd like to work on
  31. I'm doing my best
  32. I am more than my job
  33. I am enough
  34. I courageously step into the vulnerability of uncertainty/love/discomfort
  35. I get out of my comfort zone and see it as an opportunity for growth, resilience, and self-love
  36. I love myself
  37. I am worthy of respect and kindness
  38. I treat my body with love and care
  39. I accept all of me
  40. I am a good friend to myself and others
  41. I am lovable just as I am
  42. I am worthy of my dreams
  43. I like myself
  44. I deserve to feel safe and secure
  45. I am grateful for my healthy body
  46. I am grateful for my inquisitive mind
  47. I am present
  48. I need only focus on right here, right now
  49. I am relaxed and calm
  50. I can get through difficulties
  51. I am proud of myself
  52. I am happy and healthy
  53. I am living with purpose
  54. Every day is a gift
  55. I am full of joy
  56. I feel content
  57. I am positive
  58. I love being alive
  59. Every day I embody the best version of myself
  60. I'm surrounded by love
  61. My life is abundant
  62. I have everything I need
  63. I always pick myself back up
  64. I am powerful
  65. I will press on and go forward
  66. I release what no longer serves me
  67. I am adaptable
  68. I am deserving of what I desire, and I will achieve it
  69. I know my worth
  70. I radiate confidence
  71. I make decisions that support my highest good
  72. I am a wonderful person
  73. I am my own No. 1
  74. I am my biggest fan
  75. I am always learning and growing
  76. I am resilient
  77. I am evolving
  78. I radiate love and compassion
  79. I know what's best for me
  80. I am grateful for who I am
  81. Every day I am better than yesterday
  82. I prioritize myself
  83. I am my main focus
  84. I trust myself
  85. I listen to my intuition and inner voice
  86. I am in tune with my highest self
  87. Love is always available to me
  88. I have so much love to give
  89. I show myself love every day
  90. I take care of myself
  91. I do things that nourish my soul
  92. I believe in myself
  93. I stand up for what I believe in
  94. I take healthy risks
  95. I matter to myself
  96. I matter to my loved ones
  97. I make the world a better place
  98. I prioritize my own peace
  99. My life is a testament of love

7 tips for making self-love affirmations work for you:

1.

Write them down.

There's something about writing affirmations down that makes them feel that much more tangible, hence why Bruneau and Leeds both recommend doing so. Leeds also advises making your affirmations your own by writing them in your own words.

"You can even start with an affirmation sentence stem such as 'I am ______,' 'I am worthy of ______,' or 'I love ______,' and fill it in with affirmations that feel most authentic to you," she suggests, adding to rewrite your affirmations 10 times by hand in order to help your brain connect with each of your self-affirming statements.

2.

Believe them.

Bruneau and Leeds both stress the importance of actually believing the affirmations you use, which might mean starting off with softer affirmations that you can really get behind. Otherwise, Bruneau explains, the affirmations will just feel inauthentic and frustrating.

"For example," Leeds says, "if you're working on no longer being a workaholic but the affirmation I am worthy of rest doesn't yet feel true, start with, It's OK to take a break when I'm feeling depleted, and work your way up." Or for another example, Bruneau adds, if you're struggling to love your body, try I accept my body.

Another way to believe your affirmations is to phrase them as questions. As therapist Mollie Aklepi, LMSW, previously explained to mindbodygreen, "Open-ended questions such as, Why am I great? or What would my life look like with less anxiety? would allow for creativity and exploration, leading to some insight into which thoughts or actions are serving you and which could be creating barriers."

3.

Reinforce your affirmations through action.

According to Leeds, it's essential to back up your affirmations with aligned action. "If you tell yourself that you treat your body with love and care but don't spend time moving your body or nourishing yourself with healthy food," she explains, "you are being incongruent, and your affirmations will lose their effectiveness."

4.

Record your affirmations in your own voice and listen to them often.

Go ahead and open up your phone's voice memo app, Leed suggests. Not only is speaking affirmations powerful in itself, but listening to them back makes them even more powerful. "We are highly influenced by our own voice and can choose whether to use it for self-criticism or self-affirmation," Leeds says.

You can do this at any time of day, but she adds that the closer to falling asleep or waking up that you listen, the better. "Other great times to listen are while you get ready for the day and as you wind down for bed, especially while you are looking in the mirror, for example, or while doing your hair," she says, noting that pairing affirmations with self-care activities can also be highly effective.

5.

Affirm your inner child.

As you start doing more affirmations, you may feel some come more easily than others. If you're struggling to believe in a certain affirmation, Leeds suggests saying it to a picture of yourself when you were a kid. "Often we are able to see that our younger self deserved things that may be harder to believe we deserve now. Say your affirmation to you as a child until you are able to say it to your present-day self," she adds.

6.

Incorporate them into your day.

And last but not least, get into the habit of affirmations by incorporating them into your day in various ways. Bruneau recommends writing them down and placing them in places you'll see them often, as well as practicing them when you're doing something embodied like yoga, walking, bathing, etc.

Leeds adds to use physical as well as digital reminders, too. Try using an affirmation in a password you type in daily or setting your affirmation as a recurring reminder on your phone.

FAQ:

Do affirmations help with self-love?

Yes, affirmations help with self-love because they help you rewire your brain from its negativity bias, while more positive thoughts about yourself become more natural.

What are 3 examples of affirmations you can tell yourself daily?

Three examples of positive affirmations you can use daily include—but are certainly not limited to—"I love who I am," "I am a wonderful person," and "I love being alive."

The takeaway.

It's incredibly easy to get caught up in thought loops and negativity biases, but affirmations are a simple and effective way to combat those limiting beliefs. Repeating self-love affirmations is a great way to prime the brain to make changes that will shift your emotional well-being for the better.

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