Affirmations for Clarity & Empowerment
There are days when what we most need isn’t another plan, another productivity hack, or another reason to hustle. What we need is a pause. A breath. A word of truth spoken over our own lives.
That’s where affirmations come in.
For me—and for many of the women I coach—affirmations are not fluffy wishful thinking. They’re a practice. A well-seasoned practice that helps us cut through noise, calm our inner critic, and anchor into the truths we most want to live by.
And because the second half of life requires us to hold the both/and of things—clarity and uncertainty, action and surrender—affirmations give us a way to ground ourselves in the present, even as we keep evolving.
A few of my favorite affirmations for clarity & empowerment
I release the need for approval from anyone other than myself.
I pay attention to the signals my body sends me, and lovingly attend to my needs.
I make decisions with ease. If a decision turns out to be the wrong one, I make a new decision.
Understanding that change is always happening, I now choose to be in the process of positive change.
I can do hard things; I can figure things out.
When I know better, I do better.
I choose to see clearly & act accordingly.
How to test-drive an affirmation
You wanna know the best way to find out if an affirmation is right for you? Say it aloud—with intention—and then pay attention to what comes up.
That response is your compass.
Let me give you an example. Imagine I hear someone say, “We women need to know that we are worthy of receiving every good thing.” I nod my head in agreement and decide to try it out as a morning affirmation:
“I am worthy and now receive every good thing.”
What happens next usually looks like one of two scenarios…
Scenario 1: My brain whispers, “Wow, that’s beautiful.” My body relaxes. My breath deepens. A smile forms. My whole self says, “Yes, life is good.”
Scenario 2: My brain snaps back, “What makes you so special, so worthy?” My body tightens. My stomach clenches. Suddenly I’m arguing with myself about Ukraine or the neighbor down the street who “deserves” more than I do.
I’m sure you can guess which scenario tells me that affirmation is still tender ground I need to keep tending—and which one tells me the truth has already taken root.
Why resistance matters
Here’s the thing: if an affirmation stirs up resistance, that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Quite the opposite. It means you’ve found fertile ground.
This is where the work begins:
To disrupt your (often unconscious) habitual, negative thought patterns
To address your fears with tenderness
To meet your inner critic with firmness and love
To thank your body for signaling you so clearly
And to repeat the affirmation—in your head, aloud, in writing, in song, (heck, even in dance)—until it slowly becomes part of your authentic story
Why affirmations work
Neuroscience is clear: it’s not enough to just stop negative self-talk. Simply eliminating an old pattern almost always leads to relapse unless we replace it with something new.
Affirmations are those custom-designed new somethings. They help us rewrite the script.
Instead of “I’m not enough,” we choose “I can do hard things; I can figure things out.”
Instead of “I usually can’t trust myself to make good decisions,” we choose “I make decisions with ease, and if one doesn’t fit, I simply make another.”
How to build your affirmation practice
There are as many ways to “do” affirmations as there are women practicing them. Over the years, I’ve found a rhythm that works for me:
Word of the Year practice: Each winter, I sift, sort, and select a Word of the Year (WOTY). I put it into an affirmation that becomes part of my daily routine Spring-Autumn, when I rest, take stock, and celebrate my growth associated with the affirming word I’ve chosen.
Morning ritual in my backyard circle: I breathe in the sunrise, repeat my affirmations with movement, and end with prayer and intention-setting. Ten minutes, tops.
Short-term intensives: When I’m preparing for a challenging or vulnerable moment, I choose an affirmation to repeat before, during, and after. For example: “I show up as my authentic self, and that is enough.”
Sticky-note reminders: Post them where you’ll see them—bedside, dashboard, fridge, laptop. Say them out loud every time you notice them.
Layer it in: Write affirmations in your journal. Say them before meals. Copy them out by hand. The goal is to involve as many senses as possible—eyes, ears, hands, body—so that the new story takes root.
It’s the same principle a preschool teacher uses when introducing children to reading: surround them with words, slow down, and connect the dots between letters, sounds, and meaning.
With affirmations, we’re teaching ourselves a new language—the language of clarity, empowerment, and self-trust.
A closing word
Affirmations won’t magically erase your struggles. But they will shift your posture. They will remind you that you are not stuck in the old story.
The more you practice, the more natural it becomes to align your words, your choices, and your life with the truths you want to embody.
Because clarity and empowerment don’t just “happen.” They’re cultivated—one breath, one word, one choice at a time.
