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š§ How to Create Affirmations That Work
Today, we walk through the science of affirmations and how to create some affirmations that work for you and your team.

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Hereās where we are headed today:
Muhammad Ali on affirmationsā”
How to use affirmations that workš„
Favorite posts I found this week š
Free mental fitness links š
This week on The Growth Compass Premium ā
How to Build a Team of Teams Model from General Stanley McChrystal (Saturday)
New Module for Top Performers Course (Thursday)
4 Tools to Implement Servant Leadership (Wednesday)
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Letās dive inā¦
Muhammad Ali on Affirmations
āIt's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.ā

The Power of Affirmations
You can say āIām confidentā a hundred times⦠but still feel like a fraud when it matters most.
Thatās the problem with most affirmations - they sound good, but they donāt shape how you actually think. Why?
Because most people write them the wrong way. They focus on fantasy, not identity. Perfection, not process. Just take a look at Mark Mansonās quotes below:

Mark Manson on the Subtle Art Podcast
Done right, affirmations are a mental performance tool. They shape how you think. They rewire your belief system. And they build the identity of a confident, resilient, purpose-driven leader.
Why this matters: In pressure moments, you donāt rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the strength of your mindset. Affirmations when built correctly train the internal voice that shows up in those moments. And over time? That voice becomes your advantage.
š What to know
Youāll see today that affirmations work best when tied to action, behavior, and belief. Because when you make promises you canāt keep, you lose trust with yourself.
ā
1. Affirm Who You Are, Not What You Want
Most people write affirmations as wishes: āI want to be confident.ā But research shows theyāre most effective when they reflect identity and values:
āI am a calm competitor.ā
āI handle pressure by focusing on the next step.ā
Youāre reinforcing a mindset anchored in who you are, not what you lack.
ā
2. Tie It to Your Values
Affirmations grounded in values (like growth, character, effort) reduce cortisol and improve psychological stability.
āI speak with honesty and lead with empathy,ā hits harder than āIām a good leader.ā
ā
3. Emotion + Repetition = Impact
Saying the words isnāt enough, you have to feel them.
Emotion + repetition strengthens the pattern for yourself.
This is why saying it out loud, with energy, matters.
ā
4. Use Your Name
Talking to yourself in the third person - like āYouāve got this, AJā - creates emotional distance. It helps you regulate stress and reduces overthinking under pressure. In fact, psychologist Ethan Kross found that third-person self-talk improves performance under pressure by creating a buffer between emotion and action (Kross 2014 - link to sources below).
ā
5. Reframe the Threat
Affirmations donāt ignore stress - they zoom out. They remind you that setbacks are part of the story, not the whole story.
That mindset reduces fear of failure and increases openness to feedback.
š So what can we learn from this and how can we use this?
Hereās how to build affirmations that work for yourself:
Choose 2ā3 identity-based statements - Make them about who you are becoming, not just what you want. Affirmations work best if you have them tied to habits or actions that you are already doing.
āI own my habits - every rep, every moment.ā
Set a specific time to say them - Repetition early in the day sets your internal tone, but pick a time that works for you where you can be consistent.
āI live my values through effort and discipline.ā
Anchor them to pressure moments - Use them when stress spikes - before a game, after a mistake, in transition. Make them focused on an action or something that will help you focus.
āI embrace pressure, it sharpens my focus.ā
Write them and feel them for 21 days - Consistency builds belief. The more you write them, the more real they feel. This also means feel the energy behind the words.
āI stay grounded by focusing on the next step.ā
Use them as a team standard - Team identity is built through shared language. Choose 2ā3 to live by.
āWe compete with character, effort, and trust.ā
āPressure doesnāt break us - it brings us closer.ā
And remember this: Donāt say negative things to yourself out loud. Your brain listens. If you wouldnāt say it to your team, donāt say it to yourself. Instead, focus on what you want to feel. Affirmations should be focused and action-based where possible, especially in the moment of a game:
āStay calm.ā
āBreathe and compete.ā
āEyes up. Lead strong.ā
ā”ļø Mastering affirmations is just one piece of the mental game. But whatās quietly holding your team back when pressure hits? We dive into this and so much more this week in our Premium newsletter. Topics include:
The 3 mindset traps quietly holding teams back
Why positive thinking sounds good, but often backfires under pressure
And the simple reason your team talks about discipline more than they actually live it
Itās practical. Itās powerful. And it might just change the way you lead. ā Start your free trial today!
š§ Questions to Ask Others Youāre Leading
If youāre a manager or coach: Are your affirmations shaping how your team talks about pressure? Do your players repeat identity-driven phrases or just results they want?
If youāre a leader: Are you reinforcing who you are under stress or who you wish you were? Is your self-talk grounded in action and values or empty positivity?
If youāre a parent: Are you modeling affirmations that reflect the values that you want to show?
If youāre an athlete: Are your affirmations about showing up, competing, and leading?
Final Takeaway: Youāre reinforcing a mindset anchored in who you are, not what you lack. As James Clear says, habits are how you prove your identity to yourself. Make affirmations about the identity you're already building, one action at a time.
Sources:
Favorite Posts I Found This Week
Life comes down to two things:
1. Knowing how to get what you want
2. Knowing whatās worth wantingā Shane Parrish (@ShaneAParrish)
3:36 PM ⢠May 7, 2025
"I genuinely believe that playing hard is a skill." -- TJ McConnell backed that up by becoming the first bench player in NBA Finals history with 10 pts, 5 assists, and 5 steals in just 15 minutes š¤š¤š¤
ā TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree)
2:43 PM ⢠Jun 12, 2025
A building block of emotional intelligence is a rich vocabulary of emotion words.
Kids and adults are better at managing feelings when they have a broader repertoire of terms to describe them.
Language is a mirror and a map: It reflects what we feel and guides how we respond.
ā Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant)
1:36 PM ⢠Jun 12, 2025
Free Mental Fitness Links š
For coaches and leaders:
For athletes and performers:
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