20+ Motivational Affirmations to Get You Through a Bad Day

Motivational affirmations can be a really positive self-care activity to start your day with, particularly if you suffer from poor mental health.

Mental health issues such as depression tend to negatively impact your ability to motivate yourself to do… well, in my case, just about anything.

This is something I struggled with for a long time and having these motivational affirmations handy to either write in my journal, say out loud, or repeat in my head is often crucial to me just getting out of bed in the morning.

In this post, I’ll go over my favourite motivational affirmations, as well as how to use them and how to write your own.

Positive powerful affirmations to stay motivated

First, the entire reason you’re here:

1. I’ve got this.
2. I am smashing my goals.
3. I’m a bad bitch (a personal fave).
4. I’m strong.
5. I always succeed.
6. I attract abundance.
7. I attract positivity and good vibes.
8. I’m a boss.
9. I deserve ALL the good things in this world.
10. I am my biggest inspiration.
11. I’m going to own this day.
12. I am productive and dedicated.
13. People love my energy and gravitate towards me.
14. I’ve mastered every task.
15. I am endlessly creative.
16. I’m full of new ideas.
17. I’m in charge of my own life.
18. Great things are coming for me.
19. I attract new, positive opportunities.
20. I am the bravest.
21. I turn any roadblock into an opportunity to learn and grow.
22. I am worthy of everything I want.

How do motivational affirmations work?

Motivational affirmations – and positive affirmations in general – work by reprogramming the way we talk to ourselves.

Negative self-talk and being unfairly self-critical has become a bad habit for a huge chunk of society.

Most of us are our own worst enemy and when we beat ourselves up for no good reason, we lower our self-esteem a little more each time.

This habit becomes a negative thought pattern, which we strengthen each time we think negatively about ourselves.

Positive and motivational affirmations aim to break these patterns and rewire how we talk to ourselves.

By eliminating negative self-talk and replacing it with uplifting, empowering, motivational statements, it’s possible to make THIS become the overriding habit.

With time and perseverance, negative thought patterns will be replaced with more positive ones and our minds won’t instantly jump to the worse case scenario or negative self-talk.

Motivational affirmations are simply empowering statements that we repeat to ourselves in order to affirm our own awesomeness.

This boosts self-esteem, positive thinking, and, for the purpose of this blog post, motivation.

Why is staying motivated so hard?

Motivation is a big issue for me.

As someone who suffers from major depression and anxiety, sometimes just getting out of bed feels like the hardest task in the world.

Motivating myself to work on my blogs or go to the gym seems impossible.

If you suffer from poor mental health, this could be a big reason why you find motivating yourself super difficult.

Another reason – and this is just me thinking out loud here – I believe, is because of social media.

We’re constantly shown a highlight reel of people’s lives and the algorithm on most apps is designed to show you the posts that are engaged with the most. By nature, these posts tend to depict success.

When we’re constantly bombarded with images of gorgeous people being successful and we take a look at our own life, it can feel as if we’ll never match up. As if our goals are too much of a reach, so why bother trying?

For some, success stories can be motivational, but for others, it just reminds them of what they don’t have and may never have.

The trick is to remember that these people are showing you their best moments. They might not be as successful as they’re trying to depict and, if they are, it probably took them a lot of work, luck, struggle, and dedication to get where they are.

It’s true: their life isn’t your life. But you shouldn’t want their life – you should want yours.

It’s down to you to create the life that you want to have.

What are the best motivational affirmations?

The best motivation affirmations are the ones the ones that resonate with you personally and that you can remember easily.

Some of the motivational affirmations I listed above might feel a bit cheesy to you and that’s fine – it’s all personal preference.

Positive affirmations only work to their fullest potential if you can truly feel them and believe what you’re they’re saying.

I personally only use a few affirmations that I consistently return to when I need a boost of motivation.

Let’s face it: this makes them easier to memorise. Although, if this is something you struggle with, I highly recommend writing them down in your journal so that you don’t forget or buying some wall art with motivational affirmations on it.

How to you write your own motivational affirmations?

If none of my motivational affirmations above resonate with you, writing your own is also a great option!

As I’ve said, affirmations work best when you can really feel and believe the meaning behind them.

In order to write your own motivational affirmations, all you need to do is write down a handful of statements that empower and motivate you.

Try to make them short, sweet and powerful so that they’re easy to remember, and definitely note them down in your journal.

Make sure that the statements are all in present tense – you already have strength, capability and power, you’re just re-affirming it.

Also, try to ensure you don’t use words that could unconsciously carry negative connotations and ‘I don’t’ statements. For example, I personally stay away from affirmations like, ‘I don’t ever fail.’ This is because, according to experts, our brains can’t tell the difference between positive and negative intention with our affirmations and may only pick up on the ‘fail’ part.

‘I am’ affirmations also just personally feel more powerful and impactful so I stick to those. However, once again, it comes down to personal preference and whatever motivates you.

How to use affirmations to boost motivation

Motivational affirmations are a great part of any morning routine and can also be used throughout the day to give yourself a boost.

Writing affirmations in a gratitude journal every morning is super-effective. It starts your day out on a positive note and motivates you for the rest of the day.

You can repeat your affirmations aloud, in your head, or even some random scrap of paper. However, I personally use the Five Minute Journal by Intelligent Change as it not only encourages you to spend a few minutes each morning and evening working on your gratitude – which is SO helpful for your mindset – it also invites you to start the day with at least one affirmation.

My mental health and mindset have improved MASSIVELY since using this gratitude journal, I can’t recommend it enough.

What I do is simply write down my affirmation and repeat it three times in my head. I really, truly feel it and focus on the positive emotions this affirmation evokes.

KNOW that you’re a bad bitch who’s going to own any lesson that life has to throw at you today.

Know it in your heart.

If you’re not convinced, repeat it in your head several times, taking a deep breath in each time you repeat it.

Breathe out and release any negativity you might be holding onto.

Each time you repeat your motivational affirmation, notice your resolve getting stronger.

If you want a boost throughout the day, make sure to return to your motivational affirmations and repeat them three times to yourself or out loud.

The best way to stay consistent with affirmations that I’ve found it is by using affirmation cards.

They help inspire you, as well as remember which affirmation you’re focusing on, which helps transform your confidence and discover self-worth.

Check out my affirmation card club for brand new affirmation cards every single week!

Ultimately, affirmations are a great part of your morning routine if you’re looking to improve your mindset.