My Affirmations Worksheet

This affirmations worksheet is a two-page reflection resource, created by MLC. In this resource, “affirmations” means personal, credible statements of support, written in your own words.

You begin with a situation and consider what would be useful to remember. You then draft a statement, check its wording, and revise it if needed. The statement can acknowledge difficulty or uncertainty. It does not have to make a strong claim about your identity or predict a favourable outcome.

The contrast below shows the difference between a guarantee and a supportive statement.

A sentence is a reminder. It is not proof that circumstances will change. If you would like a companion that looks at the thought behind a feeling, the Cognitive Reframing worksheet is an MLC guide you can use alongside this one.

In everyday use, “affirmations” often means repeating positive statements about yourself. In social psychological research, self-affirmation interventions often involve reflecting or writing about important personal values. These are not interchangeable practices.

This worksheet invites you to identify a relevant value or quality, but its central activity is drafting and reviewing supportive self-talk. It is not an implementation of a research-tested values-affirmation protocol.

Research that uses the term “self-affirmation” cannot automatically be used as evidence that repeating any positive sentence is effective. The reference list below includes a review of that research (Cohen & Sherman, 2014), included to explain the distinction and not to claim that this worksheet produces the same outcomes.

You might use it when you would like some words of support and have enough space to reflect. Examples include:

• Before a difficult but necessary conversation.
• After a disappointment or mistake.
• When comparing yourself with someone else.
• When learning a skill and feeling discouraged.
• When facing uncertainty.
• When a familiar positive affirmation feels false or pressuring.

Begin with one manageable situation rather than trying to create a statement for your whole life. The worksheet does not ask you to use it at a particular time of day, in front of a mirror, every day, or a set number of times.

The worksheet is written for adults and older adolescents who find reflective writing or discussion useful, and for therapists and counsellors working collaboratively with clients. The age range is a practical suggestion, not a validated one, and the resource has not been validated for a particular cultural group.

No diagnosis is required. The worksheet does not assess self-esteem, establish a diagnosis, or determine what treatment someone needs.

You can discuss the prompts aloud, use short phrases, or ask someone to help record your words. Language and pacing can be adjusted to the individual. The worksheet will not suit everyone.

The PDF has two A4 pages: a guide with examples, then a practice page with writing lines. It is designed to be printed and written on. It does not include a score, a rating scale, a tracker or a calendar, and it has no fillable form fields. The only printed choice is a set of three boxes at the end of page 2.

Work on one situation at a time. Take as long as you need, and stop whenever you wish.

1. Choose one situation. Describe where you would like support, and keep it specific enough to work with.
2. Identify what matters. Consider a quality, value, need, or form of support relevant to this situation, for example patience, honesty, rest, courage, learning, or asking for help.
3. Write a first draft. Use ordinary language. You might begin with “I am learning…”, “I can practise…”, or “I can ask for…”. These are options, not required formulas.
4. Check the wording. Ask what feels believable, and what feels exaggerated, pressuring, or untrue.
5. Revise it. Make the statement more modest, more specific, or more closely grounded in the present situation.
6. Choose a supporting action. Identify something feasible that fits the words. It might involve rest, preparation, a request, a boundary, or support.
7. Decide what to do next. Keep the statement, revise it later, or choose another approach.

You do not need to feel positive before completing the exercise. You can pause or leave fields blank.

Illustrative example. It is original website content written for this page. It is not a real client’s account, and it is not an additional completed page in the PDF.

A credible statement fits your experience and leaves room for uncertainty. You could say it to yourself without wincing. The table gives examples of wording that may feel too strong, with a more specific alternative for each.

These alternatives are examples to adapt, not statements everyone must accept.

Absolute words such as “always” or “never” are not automatically wrong. The question is whether the wording is accurate and useful for you in this situation. A statement also does not have to begin with “I am” or be written only in the present tense.

Support can include honesty about disappointment, anxiety, uncertainty, or limitations. Naming a difficulty is not the same as criticising yourself for it. Examples include:

• “This is disappointing, and I can treat myself respectfully.”
• “I do not know how this will turn out. I can focus on the information available.”
• “I need more practice with this skill, and I can ask for guidance.”
• “I cannot manage everything today. I can decide what needs attention first.”

Supportive self-talk does not require minimising grief, injustice, discrimination, illness, or practical constraints. Some difficulties come from circumstances, not from the way a person thinks, and the worksheet does not suggest that distress means someone has failed to think in a particular way.

If it is hard to put a name to what you feel before you write, the Feelings Wheel & Emotional Check-In can help you find words first.

The PDF asks for one small action so that the statement can work as a practical reminder. A sentence on its own does not change a situation. Examples of how words and actions can fit together:

• “I can ask for support”: identify whom to ask and what help is needed.
• “I am learning to state my needs”: prepare one clear request.
• “I can allow myself to rest”: consider a feasible pause, or discuss help with responsibilities.
• “I can approach this one step at a time”: identify the first manageable step.

Action does not have to mean productivity. Resting, receiving help, gathering information, or deciding not to continue an unhelpful exercise can also fit. The worksheet does not claim to be a validated implementation-intention tool, and it does not guarantee that anyone will change their behaviour.

You do not have to repeat a statement that feels wrong. Some practical options:

• Make the wording more modest.
• Replace certainty with possibility.
• Acknowledge the difficulty directly.
• Use your own everyday language.
• Change the statement.
• Pause or choose a different approach.

One experimental study (Wood et al., 2009) found that repeating a particular positive self-statement was associated with worse feelings among some participants with low self-esteem. This supports caution about assuming that such statements help everyone. It does not show that all supportive statements are harmful, and it does not mean the same response occurs for everyone.

Discomfort is not a sign that a statement is working. If a statement upsets you, that is information about the wording or the timing, and you are free to change it or stop.

If a thought behind the statement keeps returning, the Thought Journal offers a different way to look at it.

The worksheet works best as a collaborative discussion aid. These suggestions keep it that way:

• Ask whether this way of working appeals to the client.
• Begin with the support they want, rather than supplying a positive statement.
• Explore whether the wording sounds credible in their own voice.
• Avoid pressuring them to endorse a sentence.
• Ask what happens when they read it: support, indifference, frustration, shame, or another response.
• Review the practical context and the choices available to them.
• Respect the option to stop or use another approach.
• Avoid turning completion or repetition into a compliance task.

Words of support are shaped by context. Pressures that may be relevant for some people, and not for others, include examination expectations, workplace hierarchy, caregiving, family comparisons, and shared responsibilities. These examples are not a description of any group.

A statement can respect relationships and interdependence while also acknowledging needs and limits. It does not have to dismiss other people’s opinions or promote confrontation.

Someone may develop their words in their preferred language. This is guidance for using the English PDF flexibly. It is not a claim that translated versions exist.

Please keep these limits in mind:

• The resource is an educational reflection tool.
• It is not a diagnostic assessment or a complete treatment, and it is not a Mindful Self-Compassion programme.
• A supportive sentence does not replace rest, safety, practical change, relationships, or professional support.
• An immediate improvement in mood is not required.
• Persistent or severe distress deserves individual assessment and support.

Created by MLC Health & Wellness Centre Pvt. Ltd. The explanations, examples, design, and practice prompts were developed by MLC, informed by established psychological literature. Supporting references are provided below.