50 Affirmations to increase your Confidence and Love for Yourself

Confidence is one of the top secrets to happiness and success in life. It provides a sense of direction, self-respect, and a powerful drive that pushes you forward when you need it most. Unfortunately, however, sometimes confidence can be elusive because positive thoughts about ourselves are overshadowed by our shortcomings or the external pressures of society.

Like many young women, growing up, I didn't feel confident. I never thought highly of myself or thought I was good enough. In fact, that voice inside my head constantly reminded me of how unworthy I was and how I should try harder to make someone else happy.

Photo by Drew Colins on Unsplash

I always made excuses for myself and blamed others for my problems instead of taking responsibility for my own life. I tried to be a perfect mother and the best wife, but I was never satisfied with my life. I always felt like there was something better out there that I couldn't have or wasn't good enough the way I was.

I worked really hard, but it never seemed enough. What probably drove me crazy was that I always felt like there was so much more for me to do to be happy and successful. But I made a breakthrough that finally allowed me to find confidence and peace within myself. The trick was to start accepting myself just the way I am, even with all my imperfections. Once I began this self-loving process, the rest of my life started to fall into place, and I found the happiness I always wanted.

I'm now 43 and have a much different mindset about life than when I was younger. I have much higher self-respect and feel much more confident. Of course, I'm still working on staying positive, but I really believe that self-confidence is the key to a fulfilling life.

I know what it's like when you're in your 20s and 30s – you're always searching for your inner peace, but as you get older, you start to become jaded about things because of all the things you've already seen. But the older we get, the more important it is to have self-esteem. We have to take charge of our life and make changes for ourselves. When you look up and see the only person you can depend on is yourself, you're truly free.

I always wanted to be an example for my children, but in my 20s, I was so busy trying to please others that I never found time for myself. My husband was the same way. We built a great life together with our children, but I wasn't happy or fulfilled. By the time we got to our 40s, we had started making changes in our lives so we could have time for ourselves and spend it together.

I learned that if you want to be successful and happy, you must first start with your self-love. If you don't love yourself, no one else will ever be able to love you.

I put together 50 affirmations for you to increase your confidence and love for yourself.

1 - I love and appreciate myself.

2 - I am kind to myself.

3 - I'm not perfect, but that's OK because no one is perfect.

4 - I forgive myself.

5 - I forgive you. (forgive yourself) (People who have hurt you in the past)

6 - It's my job to protect and take care of myself. ( Protect yourself)  

7 – All people have the right to be who they are, even when it's different from me.

8 - I'm fine the way I am.

9 - I still have a lot to learn about myself and my life.

10 - I am the captain of my own ship.

11 – If someone doesn't treat me with love and respect, I don't need them in my life.

12 - My time is valuable, so I spend it wisely by doing things that make me happy.

13 – Holding on to anger and resentment wastes my time and energy.

14 - I am the only person who can make me happy or bring me down.

15 - I will not let anyone hold me back from my happiness.

16 – I believe in myself even if no one else believes in me.

17 - No one is better than me. (Nobody is better than you)  

18 – My feelings are valid and important, and my emotions are real.    

19 - My feelings matter because they help me to know how I feel about certain things.

20 - I am good at making decisions that are best for me.

21 – I'm worthy of love and respect from others.

22 – My opinions are important.

23 - I am compassionate and kind to others.

24 - I give myself plenty of time to accomplish my goals.

25 - I know that life is what you make it, so I choose to make it the best it can be for me.

26 – I've learned that taking a break from time to time is OK.

27 - I can teach my children and grandchildren how to be happy (self-love) by modeling positive behaviors for them.

28 – It's OK if people see me as old and not youthful. But I feel good about myself anyway because I've finally learned how to love myself.

29 - I'm just as smart and capable today as yesterday and tomorrow, so there is no need to be afraid of getting older.

30 - I'm stronger and more capable than I ever was before.

31 – I know that there are no limits to what I can accomplish.

32 - Sometimes, it's better to be silent than to speak up and say the wrong thing, so I try my best to remain calm in times of stress. It's better to listen completely than talk too much.

33 - It's OK if no one thinks highly of me or likes me because they're not seeing all the good things I see in myself.

34 - I am good at overcoming my fears.

35 – I don't have to pretend to be someone else because I can love myself the way I am.

36 - Instead of going it alone, it's easier for me to ask for help from others and be open about my feelings and thoughts.

37 – It's easier for me to feel comfortable talking about my feelings now because I'm more confident and understand how important it is, to be honest with myself and others.

38 - I am respectfully honest with others and tell them how I feel.

39 - I make sure to take time out of every day to spend it doing things that make me happy.

40 - I don't care if other people think I am weird or different because my self-confidence helps me to understand that different is normal, and there is no rule book on how life works.

41 – People who get the best out of life are always searching for new opportunities.

42 - I'm able to handle life's problems in a much healthier way than I did before.

43 - Instead of letting my anger and stress control me, I can now use them as a power source.

44 - It's OK to trust myself and let my guard down a little bit more because I know that everything will be OK as long as I have compassion for myself and others.

45 – I have a lot of beautiful memories of my past, and I look forward to creating many more memories in my future.

46 - I need to keep learning new things about myself, so I won't become bored.

47 - I'm OK with being different from what people expect me to be because they're not always going to understand me.

48 - I am a good friend, so I accept myself just as I am.

49 - I need to care for myself because nobody else will do it for me.

50 – I know that life is precious and fragile, and it's up to me what I want to do with my life.

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash

To boost your confidence, my advice is to print your favorites affirmations and put them in your workspace so that you can see them every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month :)

I hope this was helpful for you.

See you next week!