Short positive affirmations – Free, Printable and Feel Good

Understanding Short Positive Affirmations & How to Make Them Work

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Do short positive affirmations work?

Can they make a meaningful difference in your life?

Yes they really can, but short positive affirmations are not magic. You’ll need patience and persistence.

Let me start off by saying that I’m not an expert on this topic; simply a person who has logged a lot of miles using these ideas.

Personally, I think having a “hook” of some sort is extremely helpful when using personal affirmations to work towards some sort of change.

For example, as an artist, I’m invested in the idea that art can help me pursue personal growth. I’ve pursued that idea many ways including my certification as a therapeutic art life coach.

I think the first question to ask when searching for daily affirmations to print and use is “why am I choosing powerful affirmations?“

There are several answers to that question, right?

• Often we turn to using positive affirmations when we want to feel better about ourselves.
• When we want a better result in our personal thinking.
• Maybe when we need an attitude adjustment.
• Or even when we know we are willing to try and change ourselves, and to do something different to get different results, that’s when a lot of us turn to an idea like short powerful affirmations.

Using Short Positive Affirmations for Others

Or maybe you want to use these quick, positive affirmations for others in your life.

For example, you want to encourage a friend who is going through a difficult time.

Downloading these positive self-affirmations and adding your friend’s name at the top of each printable card (I left room for you to do that) makes this an incredibly thoughtful gift and can genuinely give the encouragement you want to give.

What Affirmations Should I Use?

That’s such a great question! My experience is to use the affirmations that resonate the most with you.

That’s one reason why I like to use short affirmations like I’m giving you here. Short sayings tend to get in my head and heart easier than the longer varieties.

As I mentioned above, I designed these printable cards with extra room at the top to add your name or a friend’s name. Or…you can jot down the issue or challenge you’re trying to change by using these affirmations.

For me, it sometimes helps to see the challenge written down, immediately followed by the new, positive verbiage I’m working on internalizing.

Keeps me focusing on exactly what I need to focus on – the change. That also shows me that I CAN change. It’s right there in front of me, in black and white.

In fact, just writing this post gets me excited about using helpful affirmations!

Now you do what works for you. I’m just sharing my opinion and experience with you.

And here’s another thing…

Where to Put Affirmations?

Everywhere! That’s where to put affirmations if you want them to really make a difference.

You’re trying to change the neural pathways in your brain. The pathways that are already there are well-formed – it took time to get those pathways there and it will take time and practice to get the new pathways put in place.

I don’t think I can really say my daily affirmations too much.

I usually have the opposite problem of forgetting to say them enough!

So printing out multiple copies of important affirmations and putting them in multiple places in my day or printing out one affirmation per week, laminating it, and keeping it with me throughout my days are two ways of insuring I will focus on these changes appropriately.

The bottom line for me to change how I think is to use short positive affirmations in strategic ways.

And I think that means more than just repeating them over and over. Just like studying anything (and that’s what we’re doing here, we’re studying – learning – something new) it helps to approach the new material from a variety of ways.

The 2 ways we’re going to explore in this post is

1. personalizing your short powerful affirmations and

2. combining them with art.

And when it comes to the art part, guess what? You don’t need any special “art talent” or innate creativity to do this.

Just a willingness to try something new and measure your results.

So We’re Looking for Benefits of Regular Affirmation Practice

For starters, how about these benefits:

• Boosting My Self-Confidence
• Improving My Mental Health
• Enhancing My Focus and Clarity
• Encouraging My Positive Thinking

These are all excellent reasons for using short positive affirmations for others or ourselves.

Feel free to download this free set of kind words you can say everyday as you work towards a more positive outlook or a specific goal you have in mind.

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You’ll notice the second page/optional back of the affirmation printable shown above.

The first page is the actual affirmations. Print and trim along the handy cut lines I’ve included for you.

But before cutting, if you like, you can print the second grid page onto the back of your first page.

Then when you cut your affirmations out, on the back of each one there will be a handy grid ready for you to log how many times today or this week or whatever time frame you like. This is one way to measure that you’ve taken the time to stop what you’re doing, and using focus and clarity, repeated your affirmation.

Brilliant!

And again, here’s what I love: adding personalization to these daily affirmations, which is a fantastic thing.

Think about it. We’re trying to change negative thoughts into positive thinking.

Our brain knows how to do this – but it needs us to make a commitment to the positive changes we are seeking.

I know I am very good at negative self-talk and need to set a positive mindset in my daily life in order to see good results over time.

A powerful tool for me to do this is to personalize my positive self-affirmations. (I’m certainly personalizing my negative self-talk – sigh. Do you do that, too?)

So, as I mentioned before, that’s what you see in the printable affirmations download above.

I’ve left space for you to add your name. Or if you’re trying to help someone else, add their name before you gift the affirmation cards.

Adding a name can be a best practice to incorporate these simple statements into a daily routine.

Another idea to get those neural pathways firing is to combine pre-written good things (like meaningful quotes) with positive statements of your own.

Take someone else’s positive daily affirmations (mine or someone else’s you like) and add a phrase that speaks to the positive changes you want to see for yourself.

Remember, positive thoughts are actually a powerful tool at any time, not just when going through difficulties.

Positive self-talk is a great way to pursue a positive attitude.

So what else can we do to supercharge our positive daily affirmations?

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Pro tip: Use affirmations on journal pages you make yourself.

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Using Art & Smarts to Create Effective Affirmations

Ok. We’ve already talked about choosing positive words that resonate.

If the short positive affirmations I’ve chosen don’t use words that resonate with me, they sort of fall flat.

And we’ve given a reminder to stay with that present tense usage in affirmations to tell the brain “this is the way things are right now”.

This part really matters: keeping those positive statements in the present tense helps my brain get the message these messages are for real.

And we’ve went over how important it can be to add personalization.

Honestly, adding personalization and speaking these great truths out loud is like using a megaphone to speak to my heart.

One more thing: let’s take a quick minute to remind ourselves to make it believable.

Your brain is smart and knows when you’re lying to yourself.

So don’t.

My brain knows me and if I’m to have a positive impact on myself and shed some of those negative beliefs I’ve accumulated, I have to say things my brain knows it can trust.

Things that are actually possible.

If I say “I feel great all the time”, well, that’s just not true and my brain wonders why I’m saying that and will discard that affirmation. But the idea of “I enjoy the beauty in my life”, well, that’s a true statement and one I need to focus on more often.

You get the idea! Now, moving onto the next idea…

Using Art to Get. In. Touch.

Now we’re going to talk about adding art to this picture.

There are a million ways to do this, but I’m going to offer you something simple.

*** picture of me coloring my printable

I’ve added a little simple artwork to the printable I’ve designed for you.

As a Therapeutic Art Life Coach, I know that adding a bit of creativity to these daily affirmations can increase their punch.

Just adding a little color (however you want) or doodling a bit while you’re reciting these affirmations can stir up a few feelings.

Then when you acknowledge those feelings it helps to release them.

So take note of how you feel as you do this process; you might be surprised at how much deeper your affirmations will go when you add a simple strategic art practice to the process.

Give it a try. Print out that list of positive affirmations above, add your name, get out a few crayons or colored pencils and start gently drawing with whatever color resonates as you speak the affirmation out loud and think about what the new you might look like.

If you’re not sure what color to use, ask yourself a sentence like:

“My best friend gave me a lovely gift. The wrapping was the color (blank) and I immediately liked the gift even before I opened it.”

Well, that’s the color to use now.

Taking your time, slowly color for a few minutes. Maybe you’ll swirl in and out of the text. Maybe you’ll just color a background color right over the text. Remember, this will not be graded and it’s only for you!

Now sit back and take note of what you’re feeling. Name it. Peace? Satisfaction? Frustration?

All of that is fine, of course. Just acknowledge and name that feeling.

Allow yourself to experience what that color is telling you. Ask yourself what those positive words *mean* to you. Personally. What do you want them to mean?

Sometimes this process will take some practice. And every time you practice you’ll be saying that affirmation, which will help you sink it inside of you.

You know, this is such a proactive thing to do. Isn’t being in charge of our own happiness such a better place to be?

This process reminds me that I’m worthy of love and my efforts at growing. And that I can have a good day just by staying grounded using my customized affirmations.

As you can see, for me, this goes beyond putting my list of positive affirmations on sticky notes and glancing at them as I go through my days.

This produces a unique perspective that allows me to see and feel *me*.

Which helps get these new ways inside of myself. And at the end of the day, that’s what I’m trying to do with these positive short affirmations.

Grow myself into a better person.

Establishing Short Positive Affirmations into My Daily Life

This is where the rubber meets the road, right?

Morning Short Positive Affirmations When I’m Not a Morning Person

I am not a morning person. I’m more of a night owl. So mornings have always been a bit tricky as I’ve searched for ways to begin my days with a positive effect.

I believe in small steps forward. So short affirmations in the morning are good. In fact, I’ve written myself a letter from God that contains many short phrases that have deep meaning for me.

In this way I can work with my brain’s ability to take in a form of self-talk first thing in the morning.

My goal is to get off to a fresh start each morning that will have a ripple effect on the whole day.

I’m a pray-er, so starting this way is the most important thing I can do for myself.

Think about what that might look like for yourself.

Positive Affirmation List During Work or Study

But what about work or study? How to add these words of affirmation into your work life? I would say give yourself the grace of small steps.

Put the power of short positive affirmations on your to do list. Actually schedule them.

If negative thoughts are bothering you, stop and read your positive statements – out loud, if possible – with your name right there where you can see it.

Step into a restroom or around a corner to take 5 seconds for yourself.

Set up an affirmations challenge with a co-worker or fellow student who also wants to make positive changes in themselves.

The buddy method is sooooo powerful.

And last but not least?

Really challenge yourself to believe these good things. Use all of these strategies to put legs under your affirmations so that they can turn into beliefs.

Ask yourself what positive changes would look like in your life. Get a firm picture in your mind. This gives you a goal to aim for.

For maximum impact, keep an affirmations log. Keep track of your changing thoughts and feelings.

Again, this is where you measure your progress and make adjustments as needed.

There is real power in this, my friend.

Evening Self Care Routine

And now the evening routine.

For me, the evening routine keeps me forward facing if I use it to do a little assessment of my day.

There’s a Christian spiritual practice called The Examen.

It’s simple. Straightforward. And powerful.

A person simply goes over their day with God, briefly remembering each part of the day and asking what could have been done better as well as what went quite well. There is an asking for guidance to do even better tomorrow. And the grace to forgive oneself and others through the process.

Believing we are at the right place at the right time in our lives is a deep comfort.

Adding powerful daily affirmations for love or to deal with anxiety fit in quite well here.

For me, Bible verses are the perfect short affirmation at this point.

For others, it can be beloved quotes or self affirmations written specifically to oneself.

Spend some time pondering – which is what meditation is – on these affirmations before you drift off.

Bad Days, Happy Life, Positive People

Life happens. Using short positive affirmations is not a Get out of Jail Free card. It’s a method for taking control of our thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

I think the power of positive affirmations is in our focused desire to have the best life we can.

I’ve found that’s not about manipulating circumstances (I often can’t do that anyway) but about having a positive effect on my own life.

When I believe I can do the right thing, give my self love, make a difference in the lives of others, and have a positive effect on the world around me, well, that’s good news.

My thoughts are either taking me closer to that reality or pulling me farther away.

Using powerful positive affirmations just makes sense to me.

Here’s to a fresh start and a new day.

Next Step With Short Positive Affirmations

Add your own affirmations to my printable gift tags for beautiful gift-worthy positive affirmation cards.