Why Cards?

We’ve talked before about how powerful positive affirmations are in our blog post You Are Not Your Appearance. They are used to help us decrease negative self-talk and improve self-esteem. There is even MRI evidence that suggests certain neural pathways are positively activated during self-affirmative tasks. (Cascio et al., 2016) The benefits of affirmations are abundant but how can we use them in our day-to-day life? 

It’s recommended to be consistent when practicing positive affirmations. It’s important to recite them often and biggest of all: believe them! A great way to use affirmations is by creating your own affirmation deck of cards. Conveniently sized, the cards can serve as pocket-book sized reminders of your worth wherever you are. Gift them to friends, leave them on a stranger’s car, or use your whole deck by shuffling them and choosing one card to focus on each day, week, or month. 

THE BEnefits

• To live a better life

• To stop a pattern of negative self-talk

• To positively affect the thoughts and actions throughout your day

• To inspire our overall outlook of the world

• To better the relationship with yourself

The benefits of making your own deck of affirmation cards stems from the root of positive self-talk. You have the power to heal yourself from within. Creating our own affirmations and writing them down makes them more personal to us. It can be empowering to read positive phrases in our own handwriting. This can act as a reminder that we have the tools and capabilities to manage our own perspectives and emotions. 

Choosing affirmations

You can do this by brainstorming the areas of your life in which you feel needs the most emotional attention. I like to start by thinking about the mean self-doubting voice inside of me and imagining myself talking back to it. How would I speak back to my own negativity? By creating an even louder, and more confident voice of positivity through affirmations.

If you aren’t sure where to get started you can practice imagining how you would talk back to your negative voice. You can also feel free to check out our blog You Are Not Your Appearance, specifically the section on affirmations and self-worth. It gives a short summary of what affirmations are and how to compassionately choose the right ones for you.

Here are some of our favorite affirmations:

1. There is no shame in my struggles

2. The entirety of me is welcome

3. My body is perfect for me

4. I am safe

5. I am healing in perfect timing 

6. I am exactly where I need to be

7. It is safe to feel

8. I trust my inner voice

9. I trust the wisdom of my mind and body

10. I treat my mind with love and understanding

11. I am proud of myself

12. I am at peace with my past

13. Being myself is sacred

14. I am surrounded by love and support

15. I am worthy of the very best in life

16. I am safe to be my authentic self 

17. I release all negative self-talk and welcome the positive 

18. I believe in myself and my abilities

19. I am radiant

20. I am enough

DIY affirmation cards

The supplies to make affirmation cards are simple. All that you really need is something to write with and paper that you can either fold or cut into a card sized rectangle.

Other than that, it’s up to you on how you want to individualize your cards. Choose to design them minimal for a clean and focused look, or add stickers, fabric, and the works if you prefer a more visually stimulating deck. Either way, the cards you make are meant for YOU! So craft them with love and intention and they’ll be sure to provide you with comfort wherever you go. 

what you’ll need

• Paper

• Something to write with 

• Scissors 

• Paints, markers, crayons

• Glitter, glue, stickers 

• Your Affirmations!

How to use your affirmation cards

There is no right or wrong way to use your affirmation cards! Here are two of our favorite ways to use them with intention.

1. Shuffle the cards and select one that you feel drawn to without looking. Treat this affirmation as a message from the universe to focus in on. You can use the card chosen to inspire a journal reflection or even a conversation with a friend.

2. Choose one or two affirmation cards that you’d like to embody that day or week and put them somewhere your eyes will see often. Gently affirm the message to yourself (out loud is even better)

If you decide to create DIY affirmation cards, let us know! We would love to see them!

Click here to download our free printable affirmation cards shown below!