20 Positive Morning Affirmations: How to Set Intentions for Self-Improvement

Using positive morning affirmations has worked like magic to help me dive into self-improvement. I feel more confident as I set intentions, and manifest positive outcomes in my life. So, I thought, “Why not share the love with my readers and post some of the positive morning affirmations that I love?”

But I wanted to give you something bigger and better than just an affirmation list. So, in addition to my affirmation list, I've got a full affirmation guide here to teach you everything from the benefits of affirmations, techniques and best practices, and some easy templates you can use to create your own!

How Positive Morning Affirmations Can Help You

When you set intentions and repeat them to yourself regularly, not only do you change your thought patterns into believing it, but your brainwaves and behaviors change to match that vibration. So, you really do end up aligning with the idea you're feeding yourself.

Therefore, my absolute favorite way to use affirmations is as a manifestation technique for the law of attraction. The vibrational change that occurs helps me to generate more of the types of ideas that will bring what I desire to me.

For example, if I use the affirmation "I am grateful that money flows to me with ease" to attract easy streams of income into my life, I will unlock a level of my creativity that will help me to find ways to obtain passive income.

I also like to use positive morning affirmations to switch out of negative thought cycles and into a state where I am speaking more kindly to myself. Therefore, I end up feeling more grateful and in love with my life and my abilities.

On that note, daily affirmations are the key to self-improvement. They can help you to be more optimistic, grounded, and present, reduce stress, feel more confident, and the list goes on and on and on...

Did I mention that they're extremely easy to create and use too?

More on that in the next section!

Let's Set Intentions for Self-Improvement!

Sometimes bad days seem like they will never end and they can make you feel depressed and defeated. Hell, maybe you're experiencing more than a couple of bad days. Maybe it's a bad year or month.

It's okay. Every part of that is alright.

I've been stuck too and I've felt broken.

But let me assure you that your mind is extremely powerful. And with it, you can change your entire world around.

Any change you want to make, whether it's big or small starts in your mind. It truly is the most powerful tool you have at your disposal, you just have to learn how to control it.

So, the best place to start on your self-improvement journey is by acknowledging this fact. Claim your inner power and promise yourself that you will learn to master your mindset so that you can start using it for your own greater good.

The next step is to examine your limiting beliefs.

Limiting beliefs are the negative thoughts and opinions that you believe about yourself to the extent that they keep you stuck in a place where you're afraid to step outside of your comfort zone.

And although it is extremely common to hold onto them, it isn't healthy to.

 In what aspects of your life are your thought patterns holding you back?

What do you want to do or accomplish, but you feel like you aren't good enough or deserving?

In what situations do you desire more but feel afraid to take the steps necessary to move in that direction?

These are the sections of your mind that can use some rewiring so that you can truly reach your goals for self-improvement.

So, pinpoint them by writing a list in your affirmation journal. When you're finished, take a long look at that list of negative thoughts and limitations.

Did you leave anything out?

Now that you have a tangible list, reiterate the promise you made to yourself before.

Picture yourself overcoming all of those limitations.

Believe that you really have the power within you to do this, even if you don't have proof of that power yet. You'll have it soon enough by consistenly using your positive morning affirmations.

4 Tips for Using Positive Affirmations

There are some important guidelines to follow if you want to experience all of the benefits of using positive morning affirmations. Some might seem a little odd, but trust me, you're in good hands!

Here are my 4 must follow rules for creating and using positive affirmations!

1. Use the Present Tense

Always use the present tense with your affirmations, even though it’s most likely something you are expecting to occur in the future.

Your subconscious mind (the part of the brain your affirmations are altering) doesn't understand the future or past tense. It only knows the present.

2. Understand What You Really Want

Your affirmations should always resonate with your soul’s deepest desires, not what you've been pressured into thinking you should want.

So, spend some time with your thoughts, meditation is great here- and make sure to set intentions that genuinely support your desired outcome. 

3. Let Yourself Feel It

The affirmation has to feel good and raise your vibration when you repeat it.

Me personally, I like to mix my positive morning affirmations with movement.

When I choose to recite them out loud, I sing the affirmation to a little rhythm and dance around with it.

Moving my body, my hips especially puts me into a fun, positive headspace which is the perfect atmosphere for a new affirmation to thrive in. 

Visualizing yourself in your mind’s eye in a state where the affirmation is true will help the feeling as well. 

Mix things up and have a good time when you set intentions. Be silly, have fun, and feel like you’ve already won.

4. Don't Use "Don't"

Last, the wording you use is super important if you’ve decided to make your own affirmation from scratch.

You want to avoid using negative words because the subconscious mind doesn’t understand them and you don't want to end up manifesting the opposite of what you’re asking for.

Complicated and strange, I know. Here’s an example.

Let’s say you’ve attracted toxic relationships in the past and you’re ready to break that pattern.

Instead of saying, “I don’t want to attract toxic relationships anymore.” Your affirmation would be “I attract healthy, loving relationships.”

Don’t focus on what you don’t want - the toxic relationship.

Focus on what you do want - a happy healthy relationship.

AND keep it in the present tense as if you already have it!

Be Patient With Yourself and Trust the Self-Improvement Process

It’s okay if you don’t initially believe that what you’re affirming is true. You might even feel silly claiming to have or be something beyond what you can see in your current reality.

Just remember that the purpose of repeating positive morning affirmations is to change your mental and emotional programming to shift your mindset and believe something new. 

This takes repetition. Remember, self-improvement isn’t an overnight thing, so you will need to be patient with yourself and maintain blind trust (faith) in the process. 

If you really think about it, you probably developed your limiting beliefs similarly, as most of those patterns stem from repetition or trauma.

And while positive morning affirmations are extremely effective, sometimes you have other mental and emotional blockages that could be making them less effective.

Meaning, it could take longer for them to work.

If this sounds like you, don't worry or get discouraged. You have many options to help you heal including Shadow work journaling, coaching, and my virtual self-improvement course, "Overcome Self-Limiting Beliefs with Self-Love" that takes you deep into letting go of self-limiting beliefs so that you can boost your confidence and finally feel empowered and in control of your life.

 

20 Fun, Powerful Affirmations for Self-Improvement

Now that you know how positive morning affirmations work, I’m sure you’re excited to start using them. From my affirmation journal to yours, you will find some of my favorite affirmations for women below.

1. I have found success, freedom, and satisfaction within my business.
2. I am grateful for the lessons that heartache taught me.
3. I am free to live my life on my own terms.
4. I welcome change and experiences that help me grow
5. Life lessons are blessings and experience is my teacher.
6. Following my heart has improved the quality of my life.
7. I am more powerful than my pain.
8. When I allow myself to rest, I cultivate more strength and wisdom.
9. I am manifesting abundance with minimal effort.
10. My heart is open to receive an abundance of love, support, money, and wisdom.
11. I am happy to see the positive impact that my work has on other people.
12. I am loved. I am valued. I am supported.
13. I am happy and grateful now that I’m a successful -___
14. It's okay. I'm okay. I am safe.
15. I have decided to appreciate the outcomes in my life because gratitude helps me to attract more happiness.
16. I am happy and grateful that I've learned to love myself unconditionally. 
17. Everything I need always flows to me.
18. Balance and peace live within me.
19. I have decided to be happy because feeling stuck hurts too much.
20. I am the prize.

3 Easy Templates for Creating Your Own Positive Affirmations

I did my best to make a good, flexible list of positive morning affirmations, so I apologize if you didn't find something that fit your personal needs.

But I'm going to make up for it here! 

In this section, I’m going to give you some starters that you can use as templates for creating custom affirmations in your own affirmation journal. 

1. I am ___________ . 

“I am” affirmations are very popular, effective, and easy to remember. My favorite thing about them is that they help me to be more mindful of negative self-talk. 

By using "I am" affirmations, I’ve been made aware that I will become anything that follows the words “I am.” So it forces me to pause and carefully choose how I want to end sentences that begin with the phrase, even during conversations. 

2. I am happy and grateful now that ___________ . 

This is a great affirmation starter for when you’re trying to manifest something using the law of attraction.

From Oprah to Tony Robbins, countless successful people and psychologists think that success cannot be made possible without gratitude.

So, it only makes sense to infuse your affirmations with gratitude when you’re focusing on things you would like to welcome into your life.

3. I have decided (that/to) ___________ because ___________.

This is another affirmation starter that's great for manifesting. I just learned about it a month ago from a YouTube channel called Your Youniverse. 

The idea here is that by using the words "I have decided," you have come to a definite conclusion about what you want, making other possibilities nonexistent. 

So, your brain's only option is to move you to take the steps that will bring you to your desired outcome. The word "because" is a motivator. It gives you a reason to do what you've decided that you want. 

I encourage you to watch the video below for a much better and more in-depth explanation from its original creator. 

Should You Write in an Affirmation Journal or Recite Affirmations Out Loud? 

At this point, you’re pretty well-versed in all things powerful affirmations. You know how to create your own and you have a list of affirmations for women that you can bookmark and come back to whenever you need it.

Now, for the big question that baffles newcomers to this positive morning affirmations life: Should you repeat them on paper by using an affirmation journal or should you recite them out loud?

Don’t wrack your brain trying to figure out which way is right or wrong. I like to alternate between doing both. 

It’s my personal preference to write an affirmation when it’s brand new to me. I like seeing it on paper as a tangible item in my affirmation journal. 

This is also the option I choose when I’m stressed out because I’m more focused and less likely to have my thoughts wander off when I’m writing. Plus, it helps me to get into a calm meditative groove when I'm worked up.

But then there are times when I enjoy reciting them out loud, like with the affirmation dance parties I mentioned before. And those are really good for when I'm feeling blah, unmotivated, and uninspired creatively. 

There’s a third option here too. I choose to recite my affirmations and set intentions silently in my mind when I’m in a public place and need to ward off my anxiety or remind myself of my greatness without being too obvious.

I suggest trying all of these options and mixing and matching them.

Your reasoning might be similar or completely different from mine. You will reap the self-improvement benefits regardless.

Good Luck on Your Affirmation and Self-Improvement Journey! 

I wish you well on your positive morning affirmations journey and I really hope the tools and information I shared today resonated with your needs. But wait, there’s more where that came from though. 

I’ve got plenty of journals with empowering affirmations for women embedded in cute designs in my online store, Journaling is Self-Care. So, stop by and get yourself something special!

And tell me about your affirmation journey so far. Are you new to using affirmations? Have you been using them for a while? Which one of my affirmations for women resonated with you the most? Let's chat in the comments below!