Affirmations have become a game-changer in my life.

According to research, affirmations can increase an individual’s well-being, decrease a person’s stress level, help to improve a student’s academic performance, and can be used as a catalyst for behavior change.

But if you would have asked me ten years ago, I would have told you that affirmations could do nothing for me.

I believed that my mindset was my mindset. And no amount of talking to myself was going to make me feel better.

I recognize now that I was completely wrong about the value of affirmations. Today, I guess you could say I talk to myself all the time because I use simple affirmations on a daily basis.

Affirmations aren’t just talking to yourself.

We all need encouragement and support in our lives—especially when life gets challenging.

Using affirmations in daily life is a healthy way of providing the encouragement and emotional support we need to move forward.

In the morning when I get up, I have my mirror moments where I look in the mirror and say something positive about myself.

Sometimes I may give myself a compliment or a pep talk. Other times, I may use one of many affirmations that I have written down or memorized to provide the support I need to face the day with a smile.

According to a study from Carnegie Mellon University, affirmations can help individuals increase their natural ability to solve problems when they are under pressure.

This is why affirmations are so valuable to us. In today’s world, the pressure is constant. We need a better way to solve problems that will enable us to move forward in a more positive way.

I use affirmations to put me in a more positive mindset.

This is especially helpful when I am doubting myself or frustrated about something.

When days are especially hard, this helps me face the day and conquer it.

If you were to take a picture of my life at this current moment, you would see me flitting about trying to spread myself way too thin.

Let’s be honest, this may be the picture you see most of the time, but life has been especially busy for me the past few weeks. I have the balance of work, the kids coming home for the holidays, and helping my mother pack for her upcoming move.

If I were to be a hundred percent honest, it’s been a little stressful.

But when I start my day with a positive affirmation, it helps me move into that day with greater positivity. Affirmations help change my mindset even when I’m really frustrated.

Affirmations remind me of who I am and what I want to accomplish.

They give me the courage to step out into the world, even if the future is unknown. They empower me and motivate me to act on the things I desire out of life.

Affirmations also remind me of those things I am already doing that are having a positive influence on the world. These are the things I think we forget far too often.

So many times we don’t give ourselves enough credit for who we are, for what we do, and for the difference that we make in the world.

Repeating affirmations is a way to recognize the good we are already doing.   

Positive affirmations help center me for a more successful day.

They empower me to change my negative thinking patterns about myself and others. And affirmations help me replace those negative thinking patterns with a more healthy and positive way of looking at myself and the world.

As a matter of fact, starting my day with affirmations allows me to see every aspect of my life—myself, my circumstances, my family and friends, the world around me—from a place of positivity.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle. But affirmations help me get through those really tough moments where I get to choose which direction I go.

Affirmations remind me that I have a choice.

For me, this is one of the most powerful reasons anyone should use affirmations in their life.

Sometimes we get stuck believing that we are defined by our circumstances and that we don’t have a choice in the matter.

And while it’s true that we don’t always get to choose our circumstances, we have absolute control over how we react to those circumstances.

In everything we do, we have a choice of how we’re going to move forward.

We can choose to be happy, or we can choose to be miserable.

We can choose to be positive, or we can choose to allow negativity to rule our day. It is totally up to us.

Positive affirmations are a reminder of the choices we have.

I choose to start my day with positivity.

And in the course of that day, if everything that could possibly go wrong actually does go wrong, I remind myself that tomorrow is a new day.

Every day is fresh and new with a clean slate and endless possibilities.

So when that new day comes, I get out my affirmations, look myself in the mirror, and begin again.  

If you aren’t using affirmations on a daily basis, start now. You can create your own or you can use any number of affirmations out there.

If you want to keep things simple, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter, download a copy of my favorite affirmations, and pin it up by your mirror where you can see it.

Start your own day with a mirror moment and remind yourself how incredible you are. There is no one else on the planet just like you. You are the only you there is, and affirmations will help you remember just how valuable you really are.