Work Besties Who Podcast

Power of Affirmations: Unlocking Positive Self-Talk for Work & Life

• Work Besties Who Podcast • Season 2 • Episode 60

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Jess and Claude break down what affirmations really are (and aren’t), how to use them without the cringe, and why positive self-talk can meaningfully shift your mood, confidence, and boundaries—at work and beyond. From overcoming negative thought loops to writing affirmations that actually sound like you, this episode gives you practical language and everyday practices to support your emotional well-being and productivity.

What You’ll Learn

  • What affirmations are—and how to make them feel authentic
  • How positive self-talk rewires unhelpful narratives at work and at home
  • Ways to use affirmations to set boundaries and prioritize self-care
  • Simple, repeatable scripts to reduce stress and anxiety
  • How sharing affirmations with your work bestie reinforces healthier beliefs

Chapters

  • 00:00 The Power of Self-Affirmation
  • 01:12 Understanding Affirmations
  • 03:24 Personal Experiences with Affirmations
  • 06:08 Affirmations in the Workplace
  • 08:19 Leveraging Support from Others
  • 10:30 Practical Affirmations for Daily Life
  • 12:53 Creating Your Own Affirmations

Quick Takeaways

  • Affirmations are short, intentional phrases that reframe negative thoughts.
  • They can be written, spoken, or silently repeated—do what fits your life.
  • Personalization matters: make them sound like you.
  • Use them to set boundaries, reduce stress, and build confidence at work.
  • Consistency turns affirmations into mindset shifts.

Try These (and Tweak Them to Fit You)

  • “I can handle this one step at a time.”
  • “My boundaries protect my energy and my impact.”
  • “I am proud of the progress I’m making—even if it’s not perfect.”
  • “I speak to myself the way I speak to someone I love.”
  • “I trust myself to choose what I need today.”

If this episode helped, follow, rate, and review Work Besties Who Podcast. Share your go-to affirmation with us on Instagram @workbestieswhopodcast and tag your work bestie!

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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband

Jess:

Before we get into it, pause for a second and check in with yourself. What's something you need today? Is it support? Is it focus, permission to rest? Today's episode is your reminder that when you say to yourself, things matter and you get to choose your own story.

Claude:

But don't worry, we are not making you stare in the mirror and chant. We are just saying maybe your brain deserves a bit of pep talk. Hi, I'm Claude and I'm Jess. We are corporate employees by day, entrepreneurs by night and work besties for life.

Jess:

Join us as we explore how work besties lift each other up, laugh through the chaos and thrive together in every industry. Work besties. Okay, claude, let's be honest. How would you feel if I handed you a sticky note that said I am radiant and powerful and told you to read it every single morning?

Claude:

I would laugh at you. I would totally laugh and I would say really Thank you. But not, I'm not doing that. I would feel weird to put myself in in front of the mirror and say I'm beautiful. You know, I don't know, it's not I, I can't do you do that?

Jess:

all right, everyone. So today we're talking about affirmations. I love them and, as you just said, from claude.

Claude:

Well, she's not exactly using a one set well, yeah, because it's not that I don't like them to each to your own or whatever the thing is, but I just I can't do it. I don't see myself. I'm sure it would be great if I could do it but I don't know.

Jess:

A part of me wonders if you really know what affirmations are. Maybe not.

Claude:

For me, affirmation is what you say, what is on your sticky note. I am beautiful, I am smart, all that that for me is, but I'm sure there's other kind.

Jess:

Right, so so affirmations usually are short, intentional phrases that you put down. It doesn't necessarily have to be in a sticky note, but it's good to write them down or recite them in your mind. Things like I am capable, I can handle this. Take a deep breath before you respond. There's science really behind repetition and helping you rewire negative thoughts into positive ones. That's, at the end of the day, a way to help you overcome those patterns. But there isn't a specific. You have to look in a mirror, you have to write it down so many times or doing things it's all what you feel most comfortable with but at the end of the day, it's to help you reframe patterns.

Claude:

Okay, it's talking to yourself in a positive way. Yeah, okay, yeah.

Jess:

All right, it's helping you overcome whatever you feel is something you want to work on, right, okay, and people say it in different ways or do it in different ways. I tend to be the one who writes it down. I don't sit there and look in a mirror and say it to myself and I do tend to try and do it in the morning and then in the nighttime before I go to bed. Are they the same Same affirmation you mean yes, so I usually try and focus on no more than two things, because otherwise it's just too much.

Jess:

But there are sometimes affirmations that I do throughout the day to help just calm my nerves down, but ones that I'm really trying to aspire to accomplish, things like one of them has to do with being a part of the work bestie crew and how we can make this continued momentum going, and that's the one that I actually do focus consistently on writing down in the morning and the nighttime. But there are ones like right now I'm trying to get back into running, so I have those that are a little more newer. That makes sense. I kind of layer some other things in there, okay, so when you think about it, it doesn't have to be something you look in a mirror. It doesn't have to be a planner, it could be whatever you do to kind of reframe your mindset.

Claude:

Okay. So where I come from? We don't. I mean not where I come from, you come from France. We don't do that. France is a no Okay, because I'm sure in France people do that too. Like I don't say to myself oh, I want to win the Lotto. I don't say it because I write it down I want to win the Lotto, it's going to happen.

Jess:

Yeah, that's a fantastic one. I think that reminds me of when the Secret came out. Yeah, I feel like that's what everyone was like.

Jess:

If I have money in my wallet or if I put a picture of a million dollars in my bank account, it will just happen. Maybe that happens to some people. That's not how I use affirmations. It could be I do it more so for level setting, negative patterns and okay, that is different. Yeah, it's for me, it's more modeling of myself and how I can help keep my mind on track for those things that I do have power over changing. I like that. That's the difference.

Claude:

That's where okay, I mean we were talking a little bit before what it was exactly. Yes, I quit smoking, I'm very proud and I talk about it Right Right. So I guess it's an affirmation, because I'm going to say I'm not going to have a cigarette today.

Jess:

Right, I think you're saying it as an unintentional way of reminding yourself not to do it. So that is a form of it. For sure, I think that's a good one to say. You could do it with a work vest. It doesn't have to be something you formally or make into a formal thing. It could be during those time periods that you are chatting with somebody. Them guess what? I'm now, however many months without smoking. Yeah, it is because you're giving yourself the positive encouragement to keep that momentum going. Eight months, but who's counting might be more by the time. This episode, yeah, but I think in in memory when you originally did quit, you were like I'm not gonna make a big thing about it. Yeah, and that was another way of you reframing in your mind. If I put less pressure on myself, I have an easier time to get to focus on this. So you're unintentionally doing it.

Claude:

So yeah it's. It must be a bit different from like I will never say to myself I'm beautiful, I'm young, you know when I'm looking in the mirror or whatever, because, yeah, god, I'm so happy.

Jess:

Insert SNL skit from way back in the day. I can do that, but I can't. You wouldn't feel weird and therefore it wouldn't happen or change your mindset, because you'd be giggling at yourself.

Claude:

Yeah, no.

Jess:

All right. Well then, I have a question for you. So when you think about the work environment, people do so. I also do affirmations throughout the day, at times when I get a stress. How do you do a day? No, it's just impairing some things. So if I get a stressful email or I get like in a stressful situation, and instead of reacting negatively sometimes I sit there and just say like you control the narrative, you control the narrative just to help calm myself down. Do I sound crazy?

Claude:

no, it helps me. I was thinking what I was saying in my mind when I see her stress, when you see, her.

Jess:

She was stressed when she wrote this one. I know you do not love getting up and doing public speaking, but you are in a lot of meetings. I'm sometimes in some of those meetings where you have to get up and public speak. How do you prepare yourself for that?

Claude:

I prepare the crap out of it. What do you mean? I will learn the script to present. I will first write a script, okay. Then, when it's a big presentation, right, I will write the script and then learn by heart Even the jokes which you think it comes out of it. Cause the laughter here? Yeah, no, but it's true, which at the end, because I learned so much, and say to myself and look in the mirror, yeah, actually look in the mirror presenting and everything Like jokes, people think that it was came out of the moment. Not at all. So that's what I do I work to crap out of it like a lot.

Jess:

So you're kind of modeling affirmations then. But how? Because you're sitting there and practicing and you're getting yourself in the mindset to consistently feel comfortable. So you went from the pattern of feeling nervous and that you would get in this room and make mistakes to now. I've talked about it so much, I've looked at myself in the mirror so I know what the outcome is going to be. I know when I feel comfortable to say those jokes. You're modeling that pattern. So when you get in the room, you feel more comfortable. It changes your perspective and it changes your level of heightenedness. When you get in the room, you feel more comfortable. It changes your perspective and it changes your level of heightenedness when you're there. Right, yeah, I guess.

Jess:

So you don't seem convinced, I can tell. Well, I do think, as you just commented on, another area of affirmations is, instead of having to say in front of the mirror, you could leverage your work, work, bestie. So there are times to be mentioned with the cigarettes, but like you do that for work, I do it a lot of times for work, not just with you but other people on my team. I will do either role-playing, saying like, hey, let's help me walk through this presentation. What are the things that come at me? With the questions, I feel more prepared. Yeah.

Claude:

Actually, what I do like is when people do the affirmation for me. Give me an example. So, for example, oh my God, I did a presentation, it was horrible. I was horrible. Then my work, bestie or whatever will say no, it was fine. Is that? No, it's past.

Jess:

I feel like it makes you come across negative. I understand where you're coming from, because I think, in essence, what you're saying is when somebody comes to you and says I'm working on a presentation, I am trying to figure out ways to make it successful, and then somebody talks you up and is like last time I saw you present, you were amazing, you were glowing and people were all enamored by everything you were saying and eating up every word, like that.

Claude:

That, I think, is Exactly and that actually is going to be not. I am good, I am this, but so-and-so say that I was good, so I can still be good. That's an affirmation, right? No, yeah, my way of saying that is the third person that said that I was good, so I'm going to be good.

Jess:

Well, but you want to do it for you, I think, if you say I have confirmation that I've heard from others, but it's still, at the end of the day, how you want to be reflected, yes, yes, and Can that be an answer? All right, so I know, for me, there are times that I have, as I said before, commented about, I do, affirmations throughout the day. Some of the things that I think calm me down are saying things like I am not my unread team messages or my unread emails, because there's been times where that number's gotten way too high for me to fully admit on a recording.

Jess:

But there are things like that that help level, set my mentality, because there's days when you get on a your computer, your phone, and you see those numbers and it does spike your your levels yeah, so that helps me.

Jess:

And then there's also the ones that I know I've been working on the most is around. While I can do it all, I can also delegate, because I am one who tends to take it all in versus leveraging the power of my team, and my team is amazing. So those are things that I suggest helping your work best.

Claude:

To remind them of that, I think I like that one. I don't have to do everything. I can delegate that. I can take that information.

Jess:

Yeah.

Claude:

I like this one.

Jess:

See every day, you can say that to yourself. I like this one See Every day, you can say that to yourself.

Claude:

and then we take one.

Jess:

My God, I got her into affirmations. So yeah, so those are some things that we could do. I'm glad you like that one. I had thought of one for you as well. Do you want to hear what mine was for you? If it's truly important, they will follow up.

Claude:

Actually do that Sometimes on emails, except that my boss or like the important oh yeah, they are in like a special color Right. So I know that I have to look, but a lot of time I'm like it's so busy or whatever. If it's really important, they will come back and ask us. See, Ask me. There you go.

Jess:

All right, I am. You don't necessarily need to do that one, but maybe that's one you can say to me, because there are a lot of times where I'm like I'm better at delegating, then I'd be. What's my email? Where is that? What's my email? Oh, it's truly important Understood. I know you were laughing at me earlier, so I'm going to say it again. For me, affirmations, especially in the workplace, are like workplace poetry. I think it's so funny, I love it, I think it's so cute.

Claude:

It's like saying self-love is turning off notifications right, oh my God, you know what we should do. That is a carousel, yeah.

Jess:

Workplace poetry. There you go. I love it. One of them could be and this is why I think affirmations work so well is it's another reminder to put on your oxygen mask, yeah, which we've now said that, maybe just as much as we've said yin and yang, but it's true and I think it's something that all of us can continue to work on, especially from a wellness perspective. So self-love is saying no without apologizing, and that right there is an affirmation Hold on.

Claude:

I forgot already what was the affirmation that I liked.

Jess:

Yours was about the delegation. I can do hard things, but I can also delegate them. Yes, yeah, you could do it all. You just sometimes do do it all, but you don't need to. No, that's yours.

Claude:

All right. So now let's create some that you, our listeners, can actually use. What you, we want you? Right, it's the poster we want you.

Jess:

We will put.

Claude:

Uncle Sam on top. Whether you say them out loud, write them out or just think them before a stressful meeting, there are a few you can take with you, and please put it also in the you know reply.

Jess:

Share back with us.

Claude:

Because obviously I need some.

Jess:

So okay. So some work besties. Okay. So I came up with some because, as we know, clyde currently doesn't think she uses them, but she does, right, I mean just clarifying, she does, but the ones ones that I came up with, and they're a little bit more generic, so think about customizing them for yourself. But things such as I don't need to have all the answers, I just need to be present, because that's a lot of things that we deal with, right, we're in a million meetings and people assume that we all need to be there. Sometimes you don't have to be the one to jump, especially for teams there. Let them answer first.

Claude:

And you don't want to mansplain, that's true. That's the worst thing you can do.

Jess:

This next one is a callback to last week's episode. It's okay to pause before responding.

Claude:

So it's actually a good one, because if you say to yourself it's okay to pause before responding, you actually paused.

Jess:

Yeah, and my favorite about this is somebody actually responded to us in our feedback from last week's episode about this and said well, what happens when you're pausing and someone jumps in? And our answer to that was stated I need to pause for a second, but I will respond and make them known that, like it should be paused for everybody in the room. That's okay too, cause that's helping you to set boundaries with all of the people in the room, and especially the person who came and asked the question or is expecting a response. The other one that I came up with because I feel like this is one that I have to challenge myself on a lot with the boundary setting is I can be both professional but also a human with a personal life. I think it's a good one to remind yourself of. You can balance Pretty hard this one.

Claude:

Yeah, I know, I know. That's why you need to re-affirmation.

Jess:

That's why you do them right, and this one kind of aligns to that one as well. Taking care of myself helps me show up for others, and this is the one that you are doing with the no smoking anymore that's very fancy.

Claude:

Taking care of myself helps me show up for others.

Jess:

Yeah, because I won't die as early, exactly see, and it's, it's also with the swimming, with us doing our exercise. Routines, like those types of things are helping us not just to survive longer, but our mental grace every day, and then therefore, it helps us show up for others. Love it, see. So I turned to you Affirmations. Tell me a little bit. They're not necessarily something that are… Like chanting, like I said at the beginning it's not woo woo talking into Amir but it's fine.

Claude:

It's fine for people, it's not for everybody.

Jess:

I write them down, but maybe some people just like to say them their commute into work or say them as they're doing their exercise or whatever. It's just something that kind of just helps ground you again. Yeah. So affirmations for me help me stop the spiraling. And again, you don't have to say them, you can write them down, you can just think them. It's one that you want to consistently come back to. So, whether you speak it or write it or live it, affirmations really are about reminding yourself who you are and what you need.

Claude:

And if you forget, that's what your bestie is for, so you always remind me. I will.

Jess:

Now I'm going to Did you delegate today.

Claude:

Yeah, I didn't. They were all on vacation.

Jess:

All right, we'll start that one Monday. So before you log off, send your work, bestie, that one-liner affirmation, something like you're doing better than you think or your calendar doesn't define your worth.

Claude:

Yeah, or just you got this. I mean, I love that one. You know, for me it's the best. Short and simple. You got this.

Jess:

Short and simple, all right, see y. Short and simple. Short and simple, all right. See y'all next time. Besties bye. Remember. Whether you're swapping snacks in the break room, rescuing each other from endless meetings or just sending that perfectly timed meme. Having a work bestie is like having your own personal hype squad.

Claude:

So keep lifting each other, laughing through the chaos and, of course, thriving. Until next time, stay positive, stay productive and don't forget to keep supporting each other.

People on this episode

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Claude F

Co-host
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Jess K

Co-host