Saying affirmations is not enough. Put them to work.

Well-being is not a single state.

It’s multi-dimensional.

According to psychologist Carol Ryff, well-being has six dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose of life, and personal growth.

According to the psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci (developers of the Self-Determination Theory of motivation),

Psychological well-being is related to the interaction between the meaning an individual gives to life and the route to realization of this meaning as a whole model.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141e166.

Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719-727.

6 Dimensions to Well-Being

- A positive attitude toward the self.
- Acknowledging and accepting multiple aspects of self, including good and bad qualities.
- Making peace with a past life.
- Warm, satisfying, trusting relationships with others.
- Concerned about the welfare of others.
- Capable of strong empathy, affection, and intimacy.
- Understands give and take of human relationships.
- Self-determining and independent.
- Able to resist social pressures to think and act in certain ways.
- Regulates behavior from within.
- Evaluates self by personal standards.
- Having a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment.
- Controls complex array of external activities.
- Makes effective use of surrounding opportunities.
- Able to choose or create contexts suitable to personal needs and values.
- Having goals in life and a sense of directedness.
- Feeling there is meaning to present and past life.
- Holding beliefs that give life purpose.
- Having aims and objectives for living.
- Having a feeling of continued development.
- Sees self as growing and expanding.
- Open to new experiences.
- Having a sense of realizing your potential.
- Sees improvement in self and behavior over time.
- Changing in ways that reflect more self-knowledge and effectiveness.

We can enhance our well-being through affirmation.

What is affirmation?

Affirmation is the process of reflecting on personal values or attributes that are important to you.

One of the benefits of affirmation is enhancing well-being.

Arquiza, Lynnelle, "The Effect of Positive Affirmations on Self-Esteem and Well-Being in College Students" (2020). Psychology | Senior Theses. 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33015/dominican.edu/2020.PSY.ST.01