“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” These beautiful lines from The Help were some of the most poignant parts of the movie.
If you haven’t seen it, the story revolved around African-American household help working for families in The South. One of the main characters cared for a young girl, and would repeatedly tell her this and have her recite these words.
As a parent, I remember watching the movie and thinking how important it is to send the right messages to our children, and ourselves.
The words and thoughts that we say and feel often manifest into what we become.
Now I try to remember to say things like that to my kids whenever I can, and whenever the moment presents itself.
Speaking affirmations to people we love is an amazing way to offer support and instill confidence.
We know, however, that writing affirmations is also very effective, and can often have better results than verbal affirmations.
Whether you’re trying to change your internal soundtrack or want to show support for the people in your life, writing affirmations can have an amazing impact.
Here are 11 benefits of writing affirmations and how they can change your life for good.
1. Reading Influences What You Are Thinking
Reciting affirmations to yourself, whether you are facing a stressful situation or about to give a presentation at work, can be a great deal of help. It suppresses negative thoughts or self-doubt in your mind and replaces them with a positive mindset.
The problem with thoughts, though, is that they are often fleeting. Just try to meditate for a bit and see how thoughts fly in and out of your mind in the blink of an eye.
Writing your affirmations in a notebook is more of an intentional act, and you can go back and read them whenever you need a pick-me-up.
2. There Is Accountability in Writing
There’s something about the act of writing that makes the topic more real.
We all likely have thought about starting a diet “tomorrow” many times in our lives. The odds that we’ll stick to the mental diet, though, are pretty slim.
Writing down your weight, your goal weight, the foods you eat every day, etc., however, keeps you accountable and makes success more likely.
Writing down affirmations ingrains the thoughts or goals you have more deeply into your psyche.
3. They Serve as a Reference
Affirmations can be general, but they can also be very specific.
Let’s say, for instance, that you choose to make a career goal or a school achievement in the future part of your affirmations.
That’s an affirmation, but it’s also a measurable goal. When it’s written down, it’s something you can refer back to and feel a sense of accomplishment as you inch closer to your goal.
Then you can experience sort of a snowball effect as you gain more confidence and affirmations take root.
4. Writing Is Contemplative
When you first start with affirmations, it is probably because you’ve recently finished a book or listened to a podcast about them.
Maybe you heard some successful mogul talking about how affirmations changed their life.
When you get deeper into affirmations and start writing them down, though, you can think deeply about who you want to be and what type of message you want running on repeat inside of your brain.
You can contemplate on where you want to be in, say, a year from now or what goals you want to accomplish and then start building affirmations to get you there.
5. Writing Affirmations Keeps You Motivated
No matter the journey, along the way there are going to be moments where you lose sight of what’s important and you lose a bit of motivation to achieve what you set out to do.
It happens to everyone, and it’s another reason why writing affirmations is such a great idea.
You can go back to the well and look at the affirmations that gave you the energy to stick with the exercise routine or reach out to someone to network for a better job.
It’s a constant source of motivation you can draw on when you need it.
6. Writing Helps You Establish Your “Why”
Everyone needs a “why” to drive their efforts and build the mental strength required to do challenging things.
Without a purpose, even the hardest or most impactful goals become empty at some point.
That’s why people who make their goal to be rich are often unhappy after they’ve gotten there. A goal shouldn’t be the goal.
Writing affirmations helps you concentrate on why you are doing the things you are. Why do you want that new job? Why do you want better relationships with the people around you?
It’s a good way to frame what you are doing and keep you energized about your goals.
7. Writing Builds Gratitude
As you develop the habit of writing affirmations, you’ll start to notice that you are more grateful and acknowledge the positives in your life.
When you go to write, you will naturally reflect on the moments in your life where the affirmations worked or influenced the way you acted or treated others.
You’ll see how it’s helped the way you process thoughts and emotions and built you into a better version of yourself.
8. Writing Affirmations Tells Your Story
At some point, you are going to be on top of the mountain ready to tell your story.
Other people will look to you as a leader in your field or an example of what they want to become. They will come asking questions or seeking advice.
Writing down your affirmations will serve as a written record of how you got to where you are and the most impactful moments along the way.
9. Writing Affirmations Can Be a Daily Reminder
A lot of people write their daily affirmations in a journal or a calendar that they review regularly.
Other people write them on post-it notes or on a mirror that they look at every day when they walk in the bathroom or not their office.
Writing them down and placing them in specific locations is a fantastic way to trigger the positive thoughts you want to focus on.
10. They Boost Your Mood
It’s easy to get caught up in the commotion of life and forget to go through mental exercises.
Writing affirmations one time and then placing them somewhere prominent is another benefit over just thinking about them.
No matter whether you are feeling lazy or just plain forgetful, the moment you turn the corner and see your affirmation, it will trigger the positive thoughts and emotions you wanted when you wrote it down.
You’ll be in a better mood for something you did days or weeks ago.
11. They Create a Framework for Positivity
When you write your affirmations, you’re building a mental latticework where other positive thoughts and emotions can reside.
It’s hard to start thinking about becoming a successful business mogul when you’re stuck in your mom’s basement. However, writing affirmations lets you start from where you are and creates space for people to think bigger and achieve more.