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How to write an affirmation letter to yourself? Examples and tips to guide you
Each and every day we hear so many external voices.
From friends, family, colleagues, the news, we hear their frustrations, stories, and messages, yet we seldom stop to listen to ourselves.
By writing an affirmation letter to yourself, you connect deeper with your inner thoughts, your dreams, and realize the power of affirmations.
A letter of affirmation can help to expand on your daily practice of affirmations by giving you more focus and encouraging you to be more clear and concise about what you really want to achieve.
Writing an affirmation letter is a great tool to document your thoughts and in the process, build up your self-confidence.
It is also an important step in self-care, making use of writing therapy to express what is in your heart.
Akin to journaling, writing allows you to improve and increase your positivity.
Think of it as a love letter to yourself.
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What is an affirmation letter?
So what exactly is an affirmation letter and how do you go around writing one? That’s what I will be sharing in this post, but first, what gives?
In basic terms, an affirmation letter is a letter that you write and address to yourself (although you can do that for others too, but not the topic of this post today).
An affirmation letter is meant for you to pen down your thoughts.
They could be how you are feeling, what you want to achieve, or something you wish to manifest.
Positive words are used in an affirmation letter to build up your self-esteem and confidence.
Even if you do not have a specific goal right now, you can write one to talk about how unique and special you are, or to express gratitude for the good things in your life.
The bottom line is, an affirmation letter is a positive note to yourself, and it doesn’t matter how long or short it is, or what words you wish to use.
It should be highly personal, and probably something that you do not share with others.
What is an example of an affirmation?
If you have been on our site before, you would know that we have curated lots of positive affirmations for various situations.
Or you might have already learned about affirmations and now you are trying to improve how you use them.
An affirmation is basically a positive sentence that can be used to overcome negative thoughts that are self-limiting and sabotaging your personal growth and development.
When writing an affirmation, it is important to use words like “I am”, be specific, and to the point.
Here is an example I used when I was going through my own weight loss journey:
“I will reach my desired weight of 140 pounds in 3 months’ time.”
You can also write an affirmation based on what you envision yourself to be, for example, “I am the best salesperson for the month of December”.
Benefits of writing an affirmation letter to yourself
I feel like we often neglect to look internally for motivation and power.
We tend to look outside ourselves for guidance, which is nothing wrong, but sometimes, we can make use of what we have to help us get to where we want.
Our intuition and our higher self are found deep within our subconsciousness, which we can tap into or alter to our own benefit.
By reciting daily affirmations or in this case, writing an affirmation to yourself, you connect to this inner guidance even more effectively.
When you start practicing affirmations, something changes inside you.
How long affirmations take to work will vary, but over time, you can expect to become:
More motivated
More confident
More positive about yourself
Achieve goals you never thought you could
Influence others rather than being influenced (sometimes negatively)
Tip: you can also try creating your own affirmation cards in place of this.
3 ways to use an affirmation letter
How you write an affirmation letter to yourself really depends on your current situation and what you desire.
It could be one of the following few ways:
Practicing self care or self love, whereby you are writing a letter to remind yourself about all your good qualities and how special you are.
When you wish to seek guidance from your higher self.
In this situation, I would sit in a quiet corner and think about the issue that is troubling me.
As you give yourself sometime to think, start writing whatever comes to your mind without worrying about writing proper sentences. Let your intuition guide you.
You have something that you wish to manifest, for example a new home, acing a job interview, or for someone.
Imagine that what you are trying to manifest is already a reality, and write your letter in that way.
When you are done, take a few moments each day to connect with what you wrote and feel like you have already achieved it.
What should I include in an affirmation letter?
Let’s get something very important out of the way first.
You do not need to write like a Pulitzer prize winner, nor do you need to write in perfect English.
This is not a test, but a personal letter to yourself, so make it personal and unique to you.
No one is going to judge you, so don’t give yourself any excuse not to do it. “I can’t write well” is not a valid reason, and in fact is a self-limiting thought that you should get rid of.
When it comes to writing an affirmation letter, all you need is to make sure you are using positive words, words that make you feel good about yourself, and words that encourage you.
The most important thing here, exactly in the same way as writing affirmations, is to use words that resonate with you, words that you believe in.
Simple guide to writing an affirmation letter to yourself
Now we get to the fun part, actually putting pen to paper.
And yes, I do mean a physical pen and paper.
I find the act of writing to be therapeutic and feels more like a real action compared to typing into my phone.
It’s good to get away from technology once in a while and just be with yourself.
When you write your affirmation letter, again, I will stress that it is personal to you and not to worry too much about things like structure, spelling, or grammar.
Just be yourself, write in the present (not the past, not the future), and don’t overthink the whole process and ask “Oh how am I supposed to achieve all that?”.
These kinds of questions are not relevant at this point. Trust the process.
Step 1: Greet yourself affectionately
Just like how you would greet a loved one, or your family or kids, you should use affectionate and love words to greet yourself.
Some might go for something more modern like “Hey Boo”, but I always for the classic “Dearest Karla”.
Step 2: Encourage yourself
You might be facing a hard time right now, but you know that you have done well and done yourself proud.
In this case, you should write words of encouragement that remind you of what you have done or achieved, and to keep up the good job.
An example would look like this:
“Dear Karla, you are so amazing at handling your children.
This period of time has been tough because of a loss in your family, but you exhibited immense strength to keep everyone together. You are the rock in the family.”
Step 3: Make yourself a promise
I like to end off my affirmation letters with a promise to myself, and this usually relates to my progress in appreciating and improving myself.
Self-love is very important, and I take this opportunity to make a promise to myself about how I will take it seriously and practice it consistently.
An example will look like this:
“I will love myself unconditionally, despite any shortcomings I might have, as I know that I am constantly doing all that I can to make my life a better one.
This extends to my friends and family too. Even if there are negative words being thrown around sometimes, I take it in my stride as I know better.”
Tips for writing an affirmation letter to yourself
Before you go, I would like to leave you with a few more tips on how to write an affirmation to yourself.
Set aside time to do this activity. It should not feel rushed or have a time limit.
Find yourself a quiet and cozy spot. I like to dim the lights and turn on light music. It’s important not to have any distractions while writing.
I also like to have my favorite drink while doing this, but not alcohol though.
Use your imagination and visualize what you want, and write that down in the simplest manner.
Read out loud as you write
Re-read your letter from time to time, especially during challenging periods
Other resources:
- Read Now: Is there science behind affirmations?
- Read Now: Here are great sale affirmations for success
