If you are interested in mental health or wellness, you have likely been told about the impact of affirmations – positive statements about yourself, your values, and your goals that help you achieve a positive mindset and combat self-sabotaging behaviors.
- Positive mindset and optimism are more important than people think. Practicing self-positive affirmations can activate the reward system in your brain, which can have an impact on the way you experience both emotional and physical pain.
Researchers have found that self-affirmation can improve one’s life in a variety of ways, including:
- Significantly increase brain activity, according to Cascio.
- Achieve self-control by reflecting upon lifestyle values, according to Schmeichel and Vohs10.
- Bolstering one’s happiness and meaning in life, according to Nelson.
Find the full studies and more information here.
David Creswell, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, further confirmed that affirmation activities can activate the brain’s reward system — the same system that responds to sex or drugs.
“There’s a really cool brain basis for these self-affirmation effects,” he said. “They’re really turning on the brain’s reward system, and that reward system is sort of then muffling your stress alarm system in ways that can be helpful.” Click here to read the full study.
Knowing you can manage stress and other life difficulties can boost confidence and self-empowerment, further promoting faith in yourself.
Next Steps
- Incorporate self-affirmation into your daily routine. Practice speaking out loud in a mirror, writing in a journal, or simply telling yourself silently.
Examples of Affirmations
- I am strong and capable.
- I am in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.
- I am worthy of what I desire.
- I embrace my flaws because I know that nobody is perfect.
- This, too, shall pass.
- The mistakes I made yesterday are creating the person I’ll be tomorrow.
- I choose to live the life of my dreams.
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Learn more and register at: https://www.detroitchamber.com/event/2024-international-womens-day/