Musician affirmations are the cure.
Do you feel stuck in your music career? Are you struggling with confidence issues? Or maybe you just want to get started playing guitar again after years of being away from it.
There are many reasons why musicians struggle with confidence. Some of these include lack of practice, bad habits, and not having any goals. But there’s also another reason that most musicians overlook: negative self talk.
Negative self talk is something we do subconsciously every day without even realizing it. It’s the voice inside our head that tells us how great we aren’t, how terrible we look, and how worthless we are. Negative self talk is the root cause of many problems in our lives. In fact, it’s the main reason why we fail to achieve success.
If you want to change your life, then you must first change your thoughts. This means changing your internal dialogue. And the only way to do this is to replace negative self talk with positive affirmations.
In this article I’m going to share my top tips for becoming confident in everything you do. I’ll also teach you how to create your own musician affirmations.
I’ll walk you through each tip step-by-step, so you can implement these techniques immediately. And once you’ve mastered these skills, you’ll never look back!
Then, I’ll share my top 10 affirmations that work best for musicians.
What are Affirmations?
Affirmations are powerful tools for improving your life. They’re positive statements that help you change negative beliefs and habits into positive ones.
Why is this important for musicians? According to this study, a positive mood helps you be more creative.
For example, if you believe that you aren’t talented enough to become a musician, then creating an affirmation like “I am talented at playing music” helps you overcome that belief.
But what exactly are affirmations?
They’re positive thoughts that help you achieve goals. For example, if you want to lose weight, you could say something like “I eat healthy foods.” Or if you want to improve your relationships, you could say something along the lines of “My family loves me.”
How Do Affirmations Work?
When you repeat your affirmation over and over again, it becomes a habit. The more often you repeat the statement, the stronger the belief becomes. Eventually, you’ll begin to feel better about yourself and your situation.
Now let’s talk about making affirmations for musicians.
There are two types of affirmations for musicians. One type focuses on the physical aspects of being a musician. These include things like “I play well,” “I look good,” and “I sound good.” Another type of affirmation focuses on the mental aspect of being a musician. This includes things like “I practice my instrument every day,” “I’m passionate about music,” and “I’m dedicated to my craft.”
Which Type of Affirmation Works Best for You?
This depends on who you are as a person. If you’re a perfectionist, then focusing on the physical aspects of becoming a musician may help you. On the other hand, if you’re a realist, then focusing on your mental attributes may be more effective.
For example, let’s say you want to learn guitar. If you struggle to practice every day, then affirmations can help you overcome procrastination.
Or maybe you want to become a better musician. If you struggle to improve your skills, affirmations can help you avoid getting stuck in a rut.
If you struggle to perform well at live performances, affirmations can help motivate you to prepare properly.
There are many different types of affirmations, including positive self-talk, goal setting, and visualization. The type of affirmation you use depends on your situation.
Let me show you some examples.
Positive Self-Talk Affirmation Examples
1) I am confident and relaxed playing my songs.
2) My music career is going well.
3) I am proud of myself for being able to play such beautiful songs.
4) I am grateful for having been blessed with musical talent.
5) I am excited to share my music with others.
6) I am ready to take on any challenges ahead.
Goal Setting Affirmation Examples
7) I am excitedly striving to improve my performance.
8) I am happily reaching my dream.
9) I am joyfully mastering my craft.
10) I cheerfully put 100% effort into everything I do.
11) I am always prepared for my lessons.
12) I am continuously learning and improving.
Visualization Affirmation Examples
13) I am happy and content.
14) I am surrounded by supportive friends and family.
15) I am successful and famous.
16) I feel exhilarated playing in front of large crowds.
17) I love receiving praise and admiration.
18) I am loved and respected by my audience.
19) I am a healthy and fit musician.
20) I am financially secure.
21) I am admired as one of the world’s greatest musicians.
22) I am a guitar legend.
23) I am adored as a true musical genius.
24) I am genuinely recognized as a true artist.
25) I am known as a great performer.
26) I am considered a gifted composer.
Regardless of which type of affirmation works best, there’s no question that affirmations are powerful tools for helping you reach your musical dreams.
How to Create Affirmations
Creating affirmations for musicians is tough work. After all, we’re creative people who thrive on originality and uniqueness. We’re also perfectionists who hate making mistakes. So creating affirmations for musicians is difficult.
But there’s no excuse for not writing affirmations. Here’s the truth.
Affirmations are powerful tools that help us achieve our goals. They’re especially useful if we struggle to focus on achieving our goals. Flooding your subconscious mind with new thoughts and images as if your goals are already completed is a great technique to use daily.
Remember that an affirmation is a statement that describes a goal as already completed. You think, imagine, and believe as though it’s already done.
Here’s how to get started writing your own affirmations.
1. Decide What You Want
Think about what you want. Avoid any language that is negative, such as, “can’t,” “don’t,” “no,” “not,” or “fear,” “afraid,” or “scared.” This brings the wrong images to mind, which means you will get what you don’t want. Instead, use words that convey how excited or thrilled you are about something. Make sure the words bring images of joy, enjoyment, and happiness to mind.
2. Use Present Tense
Use words in the pretense tense as though you already have what you want. Act and believe as thought it’s already done. This can even describe who you want to become, how you want to accomplish it, and where you want to be.
Avoid using future tense. Your mind will think it needs to wait until later in the future. That future will never arrive unless you state is happening now.
3. Start With “I am”
Our minds love the words “I am.” Speaking those two powerful words tell our subconscious mind to make it happen. Try to keep all words in the present tense to show your mind goals are being completed now.
4. Keep it Short
Keep your affirmations short and to the point. This makes it much easier to remember and repeat.
5. Be Specific
In order to get the best results, be as specific as possible. Saying, “I am thrilled to book a gig” is not as productive as “I am excitedly booking a $1,000 piano gig.”
6. Use an Action Word
Action words evoke images of doing it now. Active verbs that end with -ing are more exciting to the mind. For example, use “I am happily passing my music theory test.”
7. Include an Emotion
Words that describe emotion give us a deeper meaning. It gives more power to the statement and makes it easier to remember. Any word that reflects an emotional state of feeling that ends with -ly is good to use. They are the easiest to put in front of an action word.
Words that calm you down, make you feel happy, and even excited work best. Include them whenever possible. Here are a few feeling words to try:
- excitedly
- happily
- easily
- effortlessly
- enthusiastically
- proudly
- joyfully
- cheerfully
- blissfully
- passionately
- boldly
- calmly
- confidently
Other words you can use with your action word include:
- delighted
- thrilled
- exhilarated
- enthralled
- eager
- ecstatic
- elated
8. Talk About Yourself
Avoid talking about other people or things detached from yourself. Affirmations are meant to describe your behavior, and not others. What you will find is that by changing yourself, others start to respond more positively.
Instead of saying, “The sight-reading example at auditions is easy,” try saying “I am smoothly playing the sight-reading section at auditions with ease.”
Focus on describing your actions and how you want to complete the task.
9. Leave Room for More
Adding the words, “or something better” opens the door for even more opportunity. We think we know what we want, but there may be even more available to us. Don’t cut yourself short.
Our own beliefs are limited and hold us back. Keep your mind open to more possibilities. This will also help you see it when it happens.
Getting upset when something doesn’t happen in the exact way we envisioned it blinds you to what actually happened, which is probably something better. Always keep your mind, ears, and eyes open. The possibilities are endless.
How to Use Affirmations
1. Repeat It
Read, speak, and envision your affirmations first thing in the morning and before you fall asleep at night every single day. These are the two optimal times to train your brain.
2. Live It
See yourself as living it right now. Don’t picture yourself in a scene where it feels more detached. Live it in your imagination.
3. Hear It
Hear sounds that may happen while you are achieving your goals. What does your instrument or voice sound like? What do your surroundings sound like? What does your audience sound like?
4. Feel It
Feel everything positive that you want to happen. The stronger the feeling, the better. If you have trouble tapping into your inner emotions, then make sure you use a feeling word in your affirmation.
Top 10 Musician Affirmations
Try these 10 musician affirmations whenever you need a quick boost. Repeat, feel, see, hear, and live them daily. Believe it is happening now.
1. I am confidently performing at Carnegie Hall.
2. I am doing everything it takes to be a successful musician.
3. I am committed to living my dream.
4. I am happily getting everything I want or something better.
5. I am persevering until I get a yes.
6. I love receiving feedback that moves me forward.
7. I am getting more proficient every day.
8. I am refining my skills and taking it to the next level.
9. I am improving every single day.
10. I am thrilled with my progress.
Musician Affirmations Summary
Musician affirmations can change your life! They can make you happier, healthier, and more productive. This technique is a great motivator for practicing, studying, and getting courage to try out at auditions. You can use them to improve any aspect of your life.
It’s your turn. What are your favorite musician affirmations? What helps you keep moving forward every day?
