Creative Affirmations and The Artist’s Way
Image by Fallon Michael
As a facilitator for Julia Cameron’s renowned book The Artist’s Way, one of the most powerful tools I share with participants is the Creative Affirmations. These positive statements aim to counteract the negative self-talk and doubts that can hold back artists and creatives.
Despite their simplicity, I’ve discovered that Creative Affirmations are one of the most powerful tools from The Artist’s Way. Their potency lies in their ease of use and consistency of application.
Creative affirmations are positive statements that help us to overcome core negative beliefs. They address issues related to self-confidence, self-worth, and allowing yourself permission to embrace your creative desires. Instead of listening to that inner critic saying, ‘You’re not good enough’ or ‘Who are you to call yourself an artist?’ you repeat encouraging words that support your creative aspirations and visions.
When first encountering the affirmations, some find them almost uncomfortably positive. But that’s precisely the point! They help adjust our thinking to accept and celebrate our creativity rather than doubt it. The affirmations can revolutionise our self-perception from the inside out.
Through my own journey and as a guide, I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations in the artists I’ve led through these practices. If you commit to exploring the Creative Affirmations, you’ll observe your negative self-beliefs gradually fading away, allowing your authentic creative voice to blossom.
The Artist’s Way — Creative Affirmations
I am a channel for God’s creativity, and my work comes to good.
My dreams come from God and God has the power to accomplish them.
As I create and listen, I will be led.
Creativity is the creator’s will for me.
My creativity heals myself and others.
I am allowed to nurture my artist.
Through the use of a few simple tools, my creativity will flourish.
Through the use of my creativity, I serve God.
My creativity always leads me to truth and love.
My creativity leads me to forgiveness and self-forgiveness.
There is a divine plan of goodness for me.
There is a divine plan of goodness for my work.
As I listen to the creator within, I am led.
As I listen to my creativity I am led to my creator.
I am willing to create.
I am willing to learn to let myself create.
I am willing to let God create through me.
I am willing to be of service through my creativity.
I am willing to experience my creative energy.
I am willing to use my creative talents.
The Creative Affirmations of The Artist’s Way can be found in Week 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety.
Discover new perspectives for creative empowerment
I encourage everyone I work with to start by reading through the affirmations and then work with them over time to let them sink in. Feel free to adapt the wording to make them even more powerful. You can also create new affirmations addressing any specific blocks or doubts you experience.
The negative beliefs that have held you back for years - ‘I’m not talented enough,’ ‘My ideas aren’t original,’ and ‘I’ll never make it as an artist’ — are neural pathways that have been reinforced over and over. The affirmations carve new pathways affirming your creativity, self-worth, and boundless potential as an artist. You are actively changing your brain when you initiate a daily practice of vocalising these life-affirming statements.
Research on the power of affirmations
Using positive affirmations can help individuals increase self-compassion, improve self-esteem, expand their self-concept, and maintain self-integrity. When a positive self-view is threatened, affirmations can restore self-competence by allowing individuals to reflect on sources of self-worth, such as core values.
Research has shown that using positive affirmations to build a positive self-image helps enhance one’s ability to control their thoughts and behaviours. In situations with structural power imbalances, this reduces the gap in cognitive performance between those without power and those with power.
Positive self-affirmations can provide long-lasting benefits when they start a cycle of positive potential. They create an ongoing, reinforcing interaction between self-perception and interactions with others, leading to more positive outcomes over time. These effects can last for months or even years.
Nurture your creativity through a creative affirmations ritual
When the voices of fear and self-doubt inevitably arise, that’s your cue to double down on the affirmations. Speak them out loud, write them out, and record yourself reading them to listen to later. Work with them after writing your morning pages each day. Persistently override those negative thoughts with positive, affirming statements about your creative soul.
Remember, a breakthrough can happen anytime, but a transformation often requires time. It takes consistent effort to unlearn years of self-criticism. If you maintain a daily Creative Affirmations ritual, you’ll notice profound shifts in how you perceive and experience yourself as an artist. Be patient, and allow these powerful words to gradually dissolve the barriers that have hindered your fully expressed creative life.
References
Albalooshi, S., Moeini-Jazani, M., Fennis, B.M. and Warlop, L. (2019). Reinstating the Resourceful Self: When and How Self-Affirmations Improve Executive Performance of the Powerless. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(2), pp.189–203. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219853840.
Arquiza, L. (2020). The Effect of Positive Affirmations on Self-Esteem and Well-Being in College Students. The Effect of Positive Affirmations on Self-Esteem and Well-Being in College Students. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.33015/dominican.edu/2020.psy.rp.02.
Cameron, J. (2021). The Artists Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. UK: Profile Books Ltd.
Cascio, C.N., O’Donnell, M.B., Tinney, F.J., Lieberman, M.D., Taylor, S.E., Strecher, V.J. and Falk, E.B. (2015). Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, [online] 11(4), pp.621–629. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv136.
Cohen, G.L. and Sherman, D.K. (2014). The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention. Annual Review of Psychology, [online] 65(1), pp.333–371. doi:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115137.
Critcher, C.R. and Dunning, D. (2014). Self-Affirmations Provide a Broader Perspective on Self-Threat. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(1), pp.3–18. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214554956.
Lindsay, E.K. and Creswell, J.D. (2014). Helping the self help others: self-affirmation increases self-compassion and pro-social behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00421.
Steele, C.M. (1988). The Psychology of Self-Affirmation: Sustaining the Integrity of the Self. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, [online] 21, pp.261–302. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60229-4.
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