30 Daily Positive Affirmations To Stay Happy & Motivated

Everyone needs a little encouragement, care and love — and what better way to show someone your appreciation than with the power of words?

That said, it's never healthy to rely too much on the validation of others. Instead, why not rely on a more consistent and reliable source: yourself? And that is where daily positive affirmations can come in.

This isn't the first time we've talked about positive affirmations and its power, but there is not harm in revisiting it, given it's value and what it can truly do for you and well-being. Telling yourself daily positive affirmations is but one of the many steps to self-care, self-love and self-improvement.

It may feel awkward at first, talking to yourself and gassing yourself up, but over time, these positive statements will become part of your self-talk and mindset.

What Are Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations are phrases that you can say aloud to yourself, in your head, or that you can write down in a journal to make sure they’re always visible. Positive affirmations are meant to help build you up and increase your self-confidence, even when things are difficult.

Using positive affirmations has been reported to decrease stress levels and even aid as academic or career support. Psychologists have found the benefits of speaking or writing affirmations to be similar to those of exercising, but for your brain.

The Benefits Of Daily Positive Affirmations

Here are some ways that daily positive affirmations can help you in your daily life and self-care journey.

1. Increased happiness and self-worth

Daily positive affirmations can help you practice gratitude for the things around you, and helps you to appreciate the small things in life.

Happy face signal.
Photo by Jacqueline Munguía / Unsplash

Additionally, there are some daily positive affirmations that will help you to acknowledge things that are bringing in negativity into your life, and take action to cut these things out.

Positive self-affirmations also help you redirect focus to feeding your self-worth by reflecting on your core values and helping give you a broader view of yourself. With time, repeating positive phrases reshapes how you think and feel about yourself. When you think, the billions o d neurons in your brain send electrical impulses along paths in your brain. This makes the neurons more sensitive and strengthens their pathways.

2. Replace negative self-talk

Negative self-talk is one of the main culprits when it comes to low self-esteem and self-confidence. After all, how can you feel good about yourself when you're constantly reprimanding yourself and putting yourself down?

I am blue
Photo by Adrian Swancar / Unsplash

By repeating daily positive affirmations to yourself, you will eventually replace your negative self-talk with more positive and uplifting encouragements. Since many of our thoughts are subconscious, positive affirmations allow us to become more aware of our thought patterns and feelings. This reduces the risk of allowing negative thought patterns to take form. It will also compel you to acknowledge your strengths, beauty and power.

3. A source of motivation and perspective

When you become happier and more confident, you will be more likely to grasp at opportunities (or even make opportunities!) to achieve your dreams!

Photo by Venti Views / Unsplash

There are also daily positive affirmations that are focused on motivating you to do what you're capable of, or to work towards your dreams, no matter how far away they are.

As humans, we tend to lose sight of the smaller things in life and take them for granted when we get caught up in life's hustle. Using positive affirmations allows you to remember how important the small things are. For example, if you’re healthy you may not appreciate it, but by using “I am healthy” as an affirmation, you are able to focus on and appreciate it.

4. Better cardiovascular health

That's right! Daily positive affirmations don't just benefit your mental health, but also your physical health as well. Our minds and bodies are so closely linked together, after all.

When incorporated into meditation practices, positive affirmations have a healthy impact on the quality of your sleep. This is especially helpful for those battling anxiety and depression. While positive affirmations are not a cure for either condition, they can offer a sense of hope in difficult times and moments of despair.

All of the benefits of reciting or writing down positive affirmations can contribute to an overall mood improvement which leads to better cardiovascular health and reduces the risk of stroke, heart attacks, and other cardiac events. Daily positive affirmations also lessen the likelihood of dismissing health concerns and instead encourage you to respond with positive changes, like eating healthier or moving your body in a way that feels good to you.

Daily positive affirmations keeps you in a positive mood and helps lower your stress levels. In turn, lowered stress levels and optimism is tied to lower risks of heart attacks and strokes, according to research conducted.

How To Practice Daily Positive Affirmations

With all that said, how do you practice daily positive affirmations? Well, the answer is: there is no singular answer! How you want to practice daily positive affirmations is entirely up to you, your preferences and what works best for you.

Flatlay of a book "Don't sweat the small stuff ... and it's all small stuff" beside a motivational sign
Photo by goxy bgd / Unsplash

Most commonly, daily positive affirmations are practiced either via speech or writing. Some people enjoy repeating daily positive affirmations to themselves in the mirror every morning. They find the words more powerful when spoken out loud and directed to their reflection.

For others, daily positive affirmations work best for them when written down! Many people choose a daily affirmation to write in their planner everyday, just so that they can start their day on a brighter note.

It can also be written in a journal! Simply start your new journal entry with a daily positive affirmation, and you can fill in the rest of the entry whenever you feel like journaling. With a digital diary app, you can even add images of these positive affirmations to brighten up your journal entries!

Add images of daily positive affirmations to your journal entry on Journey

If you wish to commit to practicing daily positive affirmations every day, explore Journey's wide range of writing tools to aid and guide your reflective experience. Amongst these tools, there are journaling templates that you can use as bedrocks and as specially curated tools that you can look toward for help with cultivating the habit of using positive affirmations.

Telling yourself daily positive affirmations is but one of the many steps to self-care, self-love and self-improvement. Develop this habit with the help of Journey's template to gain confidence. List 10 positive thoughts and affirmations that you can read aloud or in quiet to yourself to give you a boost when you're feeling down. All you need is 10mins a day to be able to recite these positive affirmations, and we assure you that you'll experience a change in your mood.

So, without further ado, here are 30 daily positive affirmations to lift your spirits and motivate you.