URBAN WELLNESS BLOG

For many of us, productivity and workplace performance have a major impact on how we feel about ourselves.

It’s understandable–we spend so much of our time at work, it’s natural that our work-life makes up part of our overall self-image.  Your chosen career may have required years of schooling or intense training and investment of some sort. With that investment, we can sometimes feel a responsibility to make it “worth it”–meaning we want to do well so our time and energy and money are not wasted.

But doing well and being perfect are different things. (One is achievable and one is not!) Yet, when we can’t perform perfectly at every aspect of our job, we may start to feel bad about ourselves.

Instead of seeing it as one bad day, or something we need some support with, we see mistakes at work or struggling at work as an indicator of some sort of internal failure, when that isn’t true! 

We’ve talked a bit before on methods you can use to start separating your self-worth from your job, so be sure to check that post out here! Today, we won’t go over what we’ve already covered there, instead, we’re going to add one more method for you to try.

That method is affirmations. (We’ve also talked about affirmations on the blog before if you want a refresher on those!) Affirmations function not only to help train you into more positive self-talk but can also help offer you reassurance when you may need it. If you’re having a bad day at work, take a few moments to remind yourself that you’ve had far more good days than bad ones and that one bad day doesn’t define your skill or worth.  This practice can help slow or stop an emotional spiral that could otherwise hijack your day or week. 

Here are 15 affirmations for you to use in the workplace:

1. I am smart enough and qualified to do this. 
2. My colleagues value my skills and presence in our workplace. 
3. I wouldn’t have been a good fit here if I didn’t have something special to offer, even if I can’t recognize it in myself at the moment. 
4. Feeling overwhelmed isn’t a sign that I can’t do my job, it’s just a sign I need some support right now. 
5. Just as I have offered support to my team before, I am allowed to ask for support in return. 
6. I didn’t “trick” anyone into thinking I was right for this job–it required hard work which I did well. 
7. I always dive into my work with the intention of being as helpful as possible, and that is all I can ask of myself. 
8. I’m capable of navigating obstacles, and I have done it many times before. 
9. It is not reasonable to expect perfection from myself or anyone else. 
10. I will see mistakes as an opportunity to grow, instead of as a sign of weakness. 
11. While my work is important to me, it is only one part of my life and does not make up my whole identity. 
12. My identity is much more than just my job, even when I have a bad day at work my value as a person stays the same. 
13. I will see feedback as collaboration and opportunity to strengthen my skills, rather than as criticism or judgement. 
14. I cannot control what my coworkers think of me, so I will measure my “success” at work based on how I feel about the work I’ve done, instead of what others think of me. 
15. Asking for help doesn’t make me any less independent or capable.

If you need more support with workplace wellness, our Wellbeing At Work program can help.