25 Affirmations for Confidence

Posted on February 23, 2023

What does it take to be more confident?

Lacking confidence is part of the human experience. Everybody you’ve ever met has encountered it at some point, whether it be about their job (we see you, imposter syndrome), their body image, or their social standing.

At its core, confidence is all about trusting yourself. Trusting yourself to lead a team, trusting that who you are on the inside is more important than what’s on the outside, trusting that you have important contributions to the world. Whatever it is that you may have insecurities about, remember that it’s probably nothing more than one negative thought you’ve repeated long enough that it’s taken hold in your brain.

Luckily, building confidence works much the same way. Building trust in yourself comes with some introspection and allowing positive thoughts to soak in.

That’s where affirmations can be so helpful. On hectic days we can forget how important it is to remind ourselves that we are capable, especially when we give ourselves the opportunity. That can open a lot of doors.

“Confidence equals security equals positive emotion equals better performance,” explains author Tony Schwartz, who is also president and CEO of The Energy Project.

Confidence is a big part of life: in careers, in relationships, and even in how you feel inside your own body. Confidence can change how you feel every day. Here is how to build more of it, authentically, through affirmations for confidence.

The power of affirmations

Several studies have shown that affirmations can “produce wide-ranging benefits, including stress-buffering effects. The trick, they say, is how you affirm yourself — particularly what you focus on,” the Washington Post reports.

Experts say that in order to make the most of an affirmation, you should keep a few things in mind:

Find an affirmation that isn’t too broad

This will differ from person to person (what might be too broad for you, might not be for another person), and that’s great! If repeating to yourself “I am confident” isn’t working, it’s probably because you need to spend some time pinpointing where you want to build confidence in your life. Something like, “I contribute thoughtful ideas” may be a better way to build confidence in your career.

On the other hand, being too narrow might prohibit growth. Try to strike a balance and land on something that leans toward being open-ended, but also gives your brain enough direction.

Make sure they align with your values

The important part about affirmations is that you believe them. If you don’t, they just won’t stick – no matter how badly you want them to. It’s also important to investigate your values, which is something many of don’t often think about.

“Emotions like sadness, guilt, grief and anger are beacons for our values. We don’t get angry about stuff we don’t care about. We don’t feel sad or guilty about stuff we don’t care about,” explains Harvard Medical School professor and psychologist Susan David. “If we push these emotions away, we are choosing not to learn about ourselves. We are choosing to ignore our values and what is important to us.”

Affirmations are all about positivity, yes, but it would be unrealistic to ignore other emotions, too, and they can help us develop a foundation that will make confidence even stronger.

Make it repetitive

Practice can go a long way when it comes to affirmations. It’s not helpful to tell yourself one time. You have to adapt this thought as a part of your day. Journal about it. Meditate on it. Practice it in the mirror. Whatever is helpful, do it often.

Practice makes perfect

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is confidence. It’s going to take some time, but making an affirmation a routine will help. Researchers say this is the most important part of affirmations, as it’s sort of like forming a habit, but instead of physical actions, it’s positive thoughts.

One way to build up the routine (and your confidence in the process) is through a gratitude journal, which helps you focus on the positives instead of the negatives.

“Most people who try that for two weeks might be really surprised at their experience and how there may be surprising carry-over effects,” says David Creswell, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University who researches self-affirmation. “I suspect that something like that is going to result in people spontaneously affirming more.”

Once you start training your brain to spot the positives, you can better recognize the negative thoughts, especially those that harm your confidence.

To start off your confidence affirmations, consider the following prompts and adapt them to your own life. You’ll be radiating with confidence in no time.

Affirmations to feel strong