Self-Love Affirmation 21 Day Challenge: My experience

So I have been on a rocky self-love journey for about a year or so now. I say rocky because it seemed as if anytime I felt secure in myself and like I've made progress, not too long after that I would slip back into my depressive, self-loathing episodes. I always stayed true to my journey and never completely gave up. However, at times it would seem like I was stuck in the same place and in a constant cycle of feeling okay then feeling horrible. I did seek counseling, meditated, and tried many techniques I've learned from self-help books and YouTube videos, but it seemed like nothing worked. But one thing worth noting is that with all the tips and tricks I tried, I was never fully consistent. Consistency in any type of practice is something I always struggled with. Whether it be working out, cutting out meat, or even posting on my blog, I would always do well in the first couple days or even a few weeks but then something happens, I get lazy and decide to skip that day. Then, I fall off and continue the same   repetitive cycle. With that being said, I unknowingly followed the same pattern with my self-love practices. Nevertheless, I never gave up my self-love journey.

This is where the 21 Day Challenge comes in. I'm subscribed to a YouTuber named Leeor Alexandria. Her videos focus on topics that deal with spirituality, the law of attraction, self-love, and overall well-being. I have been following her for  a couple months and I really enjoy her content. Every video I watch of hers leaves me refreshed and optimistic.  One day I stumbled across a video titled Self-Esteem and Worthiness Affirmations- Remember Your Worth and Value. In this 17 minute long video, Leeor recites various self-love affirmations and allows you to repeat them. Moreover, before reciting affirmations she mentioned that watching this video and reciting the affirmations everyday for 21 days will rewire your neural pathways to truly believe these affirmations, setting you up for success. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to actually commit and be consistent with a practice that will help me in my self-love journey. This was my experience.



Before I begin, for those that are curious, these are all of the affirmations mentioned in the video:



I love and accept myself.

I am more than enough.

I have so much to offer.

I am inherently valuable.

Someone else's worth does not take away from my own.

I am in competition with no one.

I am the best at what I do in my own way.

I am worthy of all that is good.

I experience great abundance in my life.

I am abundant in energy and creativity.

There is more than enough to go around.

My self-worth comes from validating myself.

I withdraw my energy and attention from others now and return it to myself.

I take all others off a pedestal now.

I honor my Divine self.

I reconnect with my inner wholeness now.

Other people recognize my sense of worth.

I honor myself and therefore the world honors me.

I respect my own time and energy.

I give to myself all that I once desired from others, now.

I make offerings of love, well-being, beauty, and nurture to myself now.

I recognize my Divine worthiness.

I already have the qualities that I admire in others, within myself.

Today, I bring forth those qualities.

I honor what makes me unique.

I spend my time and energy wisely.

I love and accept myself.

I am open to the world around me.

I am worthy of everything good that is coming to me.

I am beautiful and loveable.


I love and accept myself.



(Disclaimer: The following recollections of my experience each day are straight from my Notes App so there is some less formal language and "text" language because this was straight from the dome. Also some things were edited for clarity and privacy. Some days are not included because they were simply uneventful. You will occasionally see comments from present day me in parentheses. Okay bye enjoy!)



Day 1:

I felt more centered after saying my affirmations. Felt a little "blah" during some parts of the day but ended on a cool note.



Day 2:

Today was nice. I'm starting to feel better, lighter. Yoga helped too. I had moments where I resented some of my flaws but my mindset now is just to improve and not worry.



Day 3:

Today during my affirmation meditation it was harder for me to focus, I don't know why but I think it was still effective. I noticed too that it seems like more things are testing me. These were personal things that tested my patience, insecurities, and even anxieties. (I lowkey had a mini panic attack this day over something I now see as ridiculous 😭). Maybe it's good for growth though. I don't know but I have still been feeling better than the past few weeks.



Day 5:

Today was valentine's day. I was kind of late with the affirmations because I had a busy day, but I did it (mostly). But today was interesting, it opened my eyes to a lot. It made me realize I am on the right path to my self-love journey but I have ways to go. Above all I learned that life can be very unpredictable lol.



Day 6:

Today for some reason I had a depressive episode, even though I did the affirmations. It was before and during work. After work I kind of broke down after I received a triggering call. I had to deal with the emotions of letting someone who played a significant role in my life for the past two years go. Meanwhile, dealing with wounds that haven't fully healed yet. (Little did I know this was the first step in the right direction.)



Day 9:

So I'm kind of falling off with this challenge. I have been trying to at least listen to the video but the past few days I either didn't watch the whole thing or I didn't verbally recite the affirmations (This was only when my roommate was in the room because I felt weird saying them out loud in front of her). Today I watched the whole thing but I was tired so I didn't recite all of it and just kind of meditated to it. I'm going to try to do better though. Haven't been feeling the greatest. I'm feeling like I have depression but I'm still okay, imma keep going.



Day 10:

So I'm back on track! I did the affirmation video and watched all the way and recited everything aloud! I'm happy about that. I was medicated when I did it too so that helped me become more calm and focused. Today was actually pretty good. Thank God.



Day 11:

Another chill day and good day. I did my affirmations with my crystals today, it was nice. I actually felt more grounded with them.



Day 13:

(I actually missed this day y'all 😭)



Day 14:

I got back on track today. Saying the affirmations actually made me feel better since yesterday some of my insecurities came to surface. I still love myself despite my imperfections.



Day 15:

I was worried I wasn't going to have time to do the affirmations today but thankfully I got to do them after production night (This is when me and all of the other editors for my campus newspaper put the stories in format for the paper). I kind of had a hard time focusing today, probably from all of the stimulation from today (heavy thinkers can you relate?) but I really felt good on some affirmations like "I honor what makes me unique", "I have so much to offer", and "I love and accept myself". I really love that  because those are some things I have been struggling with. I am excited to almost finish this challenge, I never really commit to challenges like this. I'm excited, even though I missed a day, I'm proud of my dedication.



Day 16:

Got back into my early morning affirmations flow today. I kinda still had a focusing problem like yesterday but it was still empowering. I am in a good place right now and I feel like good things are coming.



Day 18:

I said my affirmations early today and  it was okay. Kind of had a self-doubt moment when I found myself in back-to-back challenging situations but it's all good. Still have some work to do but I'm going to keep pushing.



Day 19: 

I managed to do the affirmations it was late but I did it lol. I gotta do it with my newly programmed blue chalcedony stone too which made it extra powerful. I needed to because today was rough. However, coming home and getting in my zone made me feel better.



Day 20:

I did today's affirmations with both my blue chalcedony stone and dragons blood jasper stone. My words felt powerful as I said them and gave it extra meaning.



Day 21:

I did today's affirmations late again. I had a lot of work to do so I didn't really have time to do it earlier. But I'm glad I did it when I could. No stones today, just myself. I felt the words as I said them and I found myself starting to believe it. I don't think my mind is fully reprogrammed to believe every affirmation 100% but I can definitely see myself fully believing it now. I feel optimistic. I love myself. (Cliche but true)



About a month later....


I am definitely in a better place mentally and emotionally than when I first started this challenge. Like I said on day 21, I don't think I'm fully reprogrammed into 100% believing those affirmations. I still have my moments where I struggle with doubts and insecurities, it's a natural human thing. However, now I notice that my reaction to those doubts and insecurities are different. I recognize those negative thoughts but I don't dwell on them. They don't shift my mood or send me into depressive episodes because I realize my worth. I also realize that not everybody is perfect. I still have work to do in my own personal journey but the main thing I personally gained from that self-love affirmation challenge is a solid foundation. The journey to self-love is a lifelong process and that is something we must always remember.