How Important Are Words Of Affirmation

A few years back, I read an interesting article about how we create our own reality with our daily lives. The author mentioned using words to affirm yourself more than ever before. He said that by replacing negative statements with positive ones, you will begin to feel better about your life.

He gave as examples things like “I’m not smart enough” to become Harvard graduate or “No one likes me” to believe there are many people who think you’re great. By changing these negatives to positives, you will start to feel happier about yourself.

The article also mentioned that when you say kind things about yourself, it gives you confidence because you know you have done those kinds of things before. This helps you trust yourself more which is important for self-confidence.

It is very true what he said! When we talk about how bad we are at something, then that can contribute to feeling less confident in ourselves. It makes us doubt if we can succeed, which is no good.

When we take time to write down all the ways we are doing well, this gives us hope for the future. We may be working hard now, but we are still going strong! Having faith in ourselves goes up slightly every day.

Positive effects

how important are words of affirmation

Saying kind things to people is a powerful way to boost their self-confidence. You’ll find that even professionals need frequent praise to feel good about themselves.

The truth is, we all have a limited amount of confidence we can hold at any given time. When you try to talk yourself out of nervousness or fear, those nerves usually grow worse.

So how can you help someone else feel better? Tell them what they did right, give them an encouraging comment, or use the word “good” to describe their action.

Words like these make people feel happier and more confident in themselves. They may also strengthen your friend’s trust in you. If you are trying to get someone to agree to do something difficult, say a sentence like “You’re sure you can do it!” Or if you want someone to believe in you, tell them “I know you can!”

It works with kids too! As parents, telling your children they’re smart, hard working, talented — whatever qualities you’re looking for – goes a long way towards building their self-esteem.

Positive verbal reinforcement has a significant effect on emotional well-being. It takes practice to be effective, but research shows it’s very important.

“We tend to think that compliments come naturally, but actually they’re a learned skill,” says psychologist Catherine Todd Gilbert.

Negative effects

how important are words of affirmation

Saying negative things to someone can sometimes have disastrous results. For example, when your friend doesn’t feel loved or wanted by you anymore, they may withdraw from you completely.

When this happens, they may stop calling, texting, and even hanging out with you. This is because they feel like they are not cared about and therefore don’t want to be around you anymore.

They could also go outside of business relationships and quit being friends with you. They might even hurt or offend you, and then regret it later.

This will cause them to lose respect for you and break down their trust in you. At that point, they won’t believe anything you say or do!

There’s no need to pick a fight or tell someone who isn’t doing well something that may make them feel worse. Avoid criticizing and complaining unless it is really necessary.

What do the data show?

how important are words of affirmation

Recent studies have determined that words matter, very much. According to research conducted at Florida State University, people are influenced by the way their surroundings talk about things. People are subconsciously motivated by positive comments about things like products or services they use, and these comments influence them to purchase or not.

For example, if you read reviews describing how well an office product works, you will probably want to try it out yourself. The same goes for health and nutritional supplements – just look up all those happy face stickers and see what kind of results people have had!

This applies even more in the workplace, where conversations about the company and its products can make other employees feel connected to the organization and its representatives. This boosts employee morale and productivity, which is always a good thing.

So why don’t we spend more time talking about how great our employers are instead of hearing about all the ways they could be better?

It seems pretty clear now: telling others about the excellent qualities of your employer promotes overall worker happiness and engagement, and keeps them coming back. And when they aren’t, that hurts the organization.

Helpful tips for giving words of affirmation

how important are words of affirmation

When offering your condolences, there are two main things you should be aware of. The first is making sure that the person hearing them feels acknowledged and understood.

They may need someone to listen and understand what they’re going through, and just because you don’t feel the same way about something or someone no one does doesn’t mean that they can’t!

The second thing is avoiding using too many negative adjectives when describing the deceased. “She was such a kind person” is much better than saying “she was selfish.”

Words have power, and even simple ones like ‘kind’ or ‘selfish’ can hurt very badly. Use positive descriptions instead if possible.

When talking to people who have been affected by loss, make an effort to put in time to speak with them and get their feedback. This could be via calls, texts, emails – whatever works best for them.

Helpful tips for receiving words of affirmation

how important are words of affirmation

It’s important to understand that not every conversation should be about you, your life, or what you are doing. Sometimes, people feel compelled to talk about themselves, their experiences, and things they have done.

This is normal and understandable but it can become annoying if you listen to it too often.

If you find yourself listening to constant self-talk, try changing the topic. Ask them something like, “What did you do this weekend?” Or, “How was your day today?”

By asking these questions, they will probably discuss some stuff beyond yourself! This could include stories about their kids, work, or hobbies they have.

Another way to prevent self-talk is by being aware of how much talking about yourself you do. Try limiting how many times you say ‘my’ or ‘I’ in a given time period (one hour, one week).

Also, ask yourself whether what you are saying is true, appropriate, and relevant – check by using the word ‘you’ instead of I, my, or us. Your inner critic does not care about your best interests.

What are other important factors in mental health

Another key factor in improving your mental wellness is using positive words to describe yourself or talk about others. When you make an effort to use these strong, motivating adjectives, it gives you a boost either mentally or physically.

Words that emphasize on confidence can help you feel better about yourself. Using kind and encouraging language makes you feel happier because you perceive yourself as someone who has done good things.

It also helps motivate people around you to keep doing their best because they see you working hard and succeeding.

When was the last time you told yourself how wonderful you were? If you’re not sure, start creating conversations about what a great person you are. Use this book as a resource for more tips.