71 Positive Affirmations To Use Any Time For Confidence, Self-Care, And More

Whether you're dealing with stress, need a confidence boost, or simply want to give yourself a pep talk, positive affirmations are a powerful tool for tapping into your subconscious and rewiring your thoughts.

And since you can choose any affirmation(s) you want, they're a great option for everyone—even kids!

Positive affirmations are phrases that are meant to uplift and inspire you to be your best. As psychiatrist Anna Yusim, M.D., previously explained to mbg, affirmations involve repeating a self-selected phrase (or series of phrases) "that embody who we would like to become" (i.e., I am peaceful).

The more you work with your affirmation, the more the positive thinking can aid in self-improvement, as they help to transform negative thought loops and patterns.

"[Affirmations] work primarily at the conscious level, whereas many of our conflicts about ourselves and our sense of adequacy are within our subconscious or unconscious mind," Yusim explains.

"They work even better when accompanied by some honest internal reflection and some deeper internal work that gets to the subconscious or unconscious level," she says, adding that it's also important to take concrete steps to create the changes you're affirming. "

One of the beautiful things about affirmations is they're super easy to work with, and you can choose ones that speak to you—whether you found them on a list or you made them up yourself. To that end, it's important to opt for affirmations that really resonate with you and the person you want to be.

As spiritual author Shannon Kaiser tells mbg, "there's no need to overthink the affirmations; it's more about the energy of how they feel when you speak them."

For example, if you're looking to find your soul mate, and the affirmation, "My soul mate is coming to me right now" isn't exactly resonating, you could change it to, "I am full of and worthy of abundant love now." "So you massage the affirmation into a vibration that feels good and can be true right now," Kaiser explains.

And speaking of, well, speaking, it can be incredibly empowering to say your affirmations out loud to the universe whenever you think of them. Kaiser actually recommends writing them down on sticky notes and placing them where you'll see them throughout the day (i.e., on your desk or mirror) as a helpful reminder.

From there, we'll go back to Yusim's previous point about pairing your affirmations with self-reflection and actionable steps. After all, you can say "I am wealthy" all you want, but without reflecting on your relationship with money or taking steps to improve your financial wellness, not much is going to change.

Repeating positive affirmations, mantras, and meditations are all great ways to prime the brain to make a change.