How Affirmation Cards Can Improve Your Health

For some of us when we think of positive affirmations, we are reminded of Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live.

“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and dog-gonnit, people like me.”

It seems silly, woo woo and soft, not a real tool that we would use to improve our health and well-being. Or is it?

As it turns out, scientists have been conducting studies on whether or not positive affirmations affect the brain and if those effects are positive. What they have found is that positive affirmations are effective. In fact, not only are they effective in promoting health behaviors in high-risk populations, but also improving academic performance in minority groups.

If used consistently, studies found that positive affirmations can help individuals  maintain a positive self-view and that threats to perceived self-competence are met with resistance. When threatened, self affirmations can restore self-competence by allowing individuals to reflect on sources of self-worth such as core values.

The study did find, however, approaching it from the classic approach of affirming positive matras about yourself like, “I’m lovable” can actually backfire. For people who don’t actually believe them, these personal mantras can lead them to feel worse because doing so reminds them how they feel they aren’t lovable. The key is to feel the affirmation in your heart AND follow up with actions that move us towards believing the affirmation.

So go ahead, give affirmations a shot to help with your health and well being. There’s science behind its effectiveness in improving overall health. I have created a self love deck in order to help you achieve optimal health. The Confidently Love Yourself Affirmation cards provide loving actions to support each affirmation.