Spreading positivity: Benefits of daily affirmations

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” This famous quote is from the 2011 movie The Help. In this movie, Aibileen is a housekeeper in the Leefolt household where there is a little girl named Mae Mobley. Everyday, Aibileen goes through these daily affirmations with her to make her feel loved.

A daily affirmation is a simple statement that can be said every day to help improve your mindset.

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to adapt to different situations in your life. If you believe that you can do something, you can help your brain think that it’s true and your actions may follow.

Whether the goal of your daily affirmations is self love or a more positive mindset in general, everyone has something to benefit from using them. Affirmations are all about focusing on the present in order to get you where you want to be in the future.

The best way to get anything out of positive affirmations is to make them a habit. It’s important to incorporate them into your daily schedule wherever you can, whether it’s right when you get up in the morning or when you’re about to go to bed. By repeating affirmations regularly, they will have a more positive impact.

While it may seem silly at first, repeating your chosen mantra aloud about ten times each day can lead to improving your mindset. It is important to make your affirmations specific to you so they can be as beneficial to you as possible.

Now that you have an understanding of what a daily affirmation is and how it works, let’s look at some of the benefits of them.

• Manage stress

• Boost confidence and self-empowerment

• Academic achievement

• Reducing negative thoughts

• Motivation

• Cultivate better relationships

• Concentrate on your goals

However, affirmations still don’t work for everyone, and that’s okay. But the more effort you put into your affirmation, the more likely you are to get anything out of it. Daily affirmations are just one way to work towards self-improvement.

Daily affirmations can lead to a positive mindset, which is full of benefits as well. While these studies are still ongoing, the Mayo Clinic has listed the following as benefits of being more optimistic:

• Increased life span

• Lower rates of depression and distress

• Greater resistance to the common cold

• Better psychological and physical well-being

• Better cardiovascular health

• Better coping skills

Spreading positivity can benefit others as well as yourself. Creating a positive environment for those around you can lead to a trickle of positivity, which is something that our world could use.

We are always told to treat people with kindness, but don’t forget to treat yourself kindly too.