Gratitude Affirmations: Why They Work and 25 Affirmations to Try

If you feel overwhelmed or stuck in a rut, gratitude affirmations may hold the key for a more fulfilling life. Recommended by top professional coaches and backed by science, positive affirmations remind us of our inner strengths and outer abundance of opportunities. But how do they work, and what are some self-affirmations you can try?

Our thoughts can work for us or against us. Negative thoughts such as “I can’t accomplish this task” or “My peers think I look foolish” serve to increase self-doubt, limiting our opportunities for success. Positive self-affirmations, on the other hand, can combat negative thinking with encouraging realizations that nurture a growth mindset, decrease stress and expand openness.

Tools such as gratitude journals help the positive thinking process. Sometimes, you need to ward off the stress of negative thinking more quickly, like before giving a presentation. Gratitude affirmations work in the moment by replacing negative self-talk with more realistic, positive thoughts. Scientific research has found potential for self-affirmation to reduce defensiveness, promote openness and positivity and improve coping ability. 

Not all self-affirmations are created equally. For instance, positive affirmations that don’t feel realistic can have negative effects in the long run. Consider these tips to create the most useful gratitude affirmations.

Below, we provide 25 examples of gratitude affirmations grouped in categories for different kinds of common situations. Read the affirmation aloud. Get a sense of which approaches work best for you, and combine or modify them to best speak to your own style and needs.

It’s hard not to compare ourselves to others, so avoid negative comparisons by affirming your own personal value.

Providing your opinion or making a request in a professional setting takes personal courage, and that’s a good time to affirm your value to others.

Rather than avoiding social situations required for networking and group presentations, remind yourself of all that you have to offer.

Setbacks in our life and career happen to us all, and gratitude affirmations help us reset by finding their true meaning.

Often, the greatest purpose of a gratitude affirmation is to get us unstuck when we’ve become too comfortable with stasis.

Photo by Caterina Trimarchi/Shutterstock.com

Bryan enjoys the digital space where arts and technology meet. As a writer, he has worked in education, health and wellbeing, and manufacturing. He also assists smaller businesses in web development including accessibility and content development. In his free time, he hikes trails in central Florida.