Affirmations are statements intended to build and maintain healthy self-esteem and to help foster a positive outlook on life. The positive psychology practice of self-affirmation aims to help people combat negative beliefs and restore trust in themselves—or simply like themselves again. Typically, self-affirmation is accomplished by way of short, positive statements repeated to oneself, whether aloud or not, on a regular basis—but that’s not the only way to achieve some of the benefits.