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8 Renewing Affirmations for Finding Creativity at Work

Creativity can be elusive, especially if you’re suffering from creative burnout. This can be especially frustrating at work, as you’re trying to solve problems, work effectively, and meet deadlines.

There are many different things you can try when it comes to helping yourself renew your creativity, but one of my favorite methods is the use of affirmations.

What are affirmations?

Affirmations have been gaining a lot of traction in the past couple of years. It’s easy to be skeptical as an intelligent creator, but hear me out! Whether they’re used for professional or personal purposes, affirmations can help people envision and declare a new state of being, ultimately creating a new reality for themselves. 

In the most simple terms, an affirmation is a short, powerful, positive phrase. They usually begin with “I am…” or something similar, and are usually centered around a goal or state you’re trying to achieve. They can range from fairly vague to very specific. Examples of personal affirmations might include things like:

“I am a healthy eater who uses food as fuel.
“I am a present parent.”
“My worth is intrinsic and I live accordingly.”

To put affirmations into practice, you would repeat them out loud to yourself. Recommendations differ on when and how often to state your affirmations, but at least once daily is a good practice. I like to do it anytime I am showing up as less than that affirmation!

The power of affirmations

They help you combat the negative thought patterns we all have, retraining your brain to see yourself and your life in a positive light.

Because they’re becoming increasingly popular, affirmations are being studied more regularly. One such study shows that affirmations activate the reward circuits in the brain, creating a pleasure response that acts as an “emotional buffer” to negative experience. 

In this way, affirmations can be an extremely powerful tool as you work to motivate yourself, focus on a goal, envision a new you, and design a happier life for yourself.

Additionally, affirmations can be very useful when you feel stuck—such as when you’re struggling to find creativity at work. 

8 renewing affirmations for finding creativity at work

We want to help you put the renewing power of affirmations to use for you as you’re struggling to find more creativity at work. Here are 8 affirmations to help you do just that.

Remember: it can be tricky to find just the right affirmation for your particular needs, personality, and situation, so don’t consider these suggestions to be written in stone. If needed, use them to be starting points to help you feel inspired as you work to write your own renewing, life-changing affirmations for finding creativity at work. Note: With Design.org Plus, you can write you own affirmations and have them text or emailed to you as often as you’d like!

“I find inspiration everywhere.”

It’s hard to be creative when you don’t feel inspired. The problem is that many of us wait for inspiration to come to us, and if it doesn’t come easily, we get frustrated and give up on it. The result is work that is…well, uninspired.

But if you can train your brain to find inspiration everywhere, you’ll tackle this age-old problem with a fresh perspective. What is around you that could possibly inspire you? Who do you know that inspires you? What is it about the world, your city, your office, that makes you feel inspired? Take yourself outside the specific situation or problem and look for new ideas  and approaches. Inspiration is all around you, and if you believe that you can find it, you will.

“I work to cultivate my creativity.”

Creativity comes naturally to some people more than others, but creativity is also a skill. It can be learned, grown, and nurtured. There’s no such thing as someone who is “not creative.” You don’t have to be an artist or musician to be creative; humans approach problems in creative ways all the time, in every area from mathematics to design to parenting. 

Affirm to yourself that you are working to cultivate your creativity. Acknowledge that you have it within you. Believe that you can grow it if you put in the effort. Determine to stretch and strengthen your creative muscles. 

“I surprise myself.”

How many of us have gotten stuck in our own heads, playing a thought loop that sounds something like, “You always do this! When are you ever going to figure this out? Why is this so hard for you?” That kind of negative self-talk is going to get you exactly nowhere. Instead, tell yourself that you can be surprising. 

If you can surprise yourself, you can do things differently. You can break any old, negative cycles or thought patterns you have and instead approach things in a whole new way. Creative solutions are often surprising—presenting an idea or method that you’ve never tried before (or didn’t exist before). Affirm that you can (and do) surprise yourself; it will give your creative side permission to show up.     

“I am always growing and developing.”

It’s easy to get discouraged when the muse seems to have left us. Feeling stuck or stagnant can make you feel like things aren’t going to get any better—or worse, that you will never get any better. 

An affirmation like this can help you maintain a growth mindset. A growth mindset puts your attention on your work ethic, strategies, and determination to improve, rather than on your innate, unchangeable ability (which is what a fixed mindset focuses on). It’s the difference between “I am smart” (fixed mindset) and “I can learn” (growth mindset).

Maintaining a growth mindset about creativity is hugely helpful for keeping the discouragement at bay. Remind yourself that you’re always growing and developing, and you’ll be more likely to rediscover your creativity.

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“I do meaningful work.” 

Meaning and creativity are closely connected. Creating is, in and of itself, a meaningful practice. Recognizing and reminding yourself of the meaning behind your work can help you keep going when the going gets tough. It’s hard to be creative about your job when you feel like your job is meaningless. 

Remind yourself that your work does have meaning. If you’re having trouble finding that meaning, go looking for it. You’ll be able to find meaning in anything, with the right perspective. And realizing what that meaning is will help you renew your dedication to your job.

“I have an authentic viewpoint that is worth sharing.”

Self-confidence breeds creativity. If you don’t think you have anything worth sharing, why would you bother to create anything?

This affirmation can help develop the self-confidence you need to build your creativity and put it into practice. It can help you realize that you have a unique perspective, and that your perspective has a valuable role to play in the world. In other words, your contribution matters. Once you can train your brain to believe this truth, you’ll be able to recognize not only your potential to create, but your potential to create something that is uniquely yours and remarkably valuable. 

“I experience a state of flow regularly.” 

Most of us have at least a little experience with a state of flow: those times when you’re so “in the zone” that time seems to fly by in a blur of productivity and creativity. There are a couple good reasons why you would want to get to a flow state as often as possible, most notably that flow is intrinsically enjoyable and effortless. Don’t you want your work to be like that?

Affirm to yourself that flow is part of your regular work experience. Remind yourself that flow is available to you, and that you can (and do) experience it often. Once you believe this, flow will be able to benefit you more regularly. 

“I work from a place of abundance.”

It’s important to approach creativity with an abundance mindset; you need to believe that there is enough of it to go around. That is, just because other people seem creative doesn’t mean you can’t also be creative. There are enough good ideas to be had, there’s enough inspiration to be found, and you are just as entitled to it as anyone else. 

Don’t allow these thoughts of abundance to be replaced by thoughts of scarcity. Operating from scarcity is more likely to cause you to be fearful, close up, and treat every ounce of creativity you have like a precious commodity that cannot be shared. Affirm abundance, create abundance.


These 8 renewing affirmations for finding creativity at work can help you, whether you’re in a slump, struggling to stay on top of your work, or just need to approach things in a different way. If you can find a little extra creativity in your days, you’ll discover a new approach to your job—and to life—that you’ve never experienced before.  

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