The global pandemic is approximately one year old. Arguably the next few months will be the hardest because we are heading into the final stretch of this hellish marathon. So many of us are hitting walls in our work and life right now. On a recent episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, Tim interviewed Coach George Raveling about the power of positive self-talk. Over the past few months, I’ve asked friends, colleagues, and strangers to share their favourite positive self-talk phrases that help them bounce-back from failure, allay anxiety, or confidently prepare them for a big professional experience. Here are 15 positive self-talk phrases that will build your confidence and potential as we emerge from the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Why positive self-talk matters

According to Psychology Today’s Marc Lener, positive self-talk builds resilience and adaptability: “when we establish a strong and varied set of positive self-talk messages, we can overcome emotionally negative situations and be able to form strategies and solutions that work. Overcoming adversity builds confidence and hope that we can survive through whatever obstacles come our way, therefore building our self-esteem.”

Coach Raveling agrees by underscoring the importance of positive self-talk, especially about existential ideas like life and death, as a means of teaching ourselves how to think:

…so much of my time now is spent trying to teach myself how to think. And there’s so much time that I have to make up because of the fact that I didn’t ever really understand the relevance or importance of being able to think, because someone always told me what to think. And in many ways, as a black person growing up in a variety of ways, there’s always someone telling you, ‘We know what’s best for you.’ If I don’t know what’s best for me, then how the hell can somebody else think they know what’s best for me?

When we envision the best, most resilient versions of ourselves we are more likely to see ourselves in this image and behave accordingly. For me, the phrase “I am the person that my kids think I am” always gives me confidence while grounding me in what matters most, which is working with joy every day. As a best practice, having a few go-to phrases for different situations is a best practice. Two friends, Cian and Lindsay, contributed to the list below, which I have broken down into phrases that build confidence, will ground you with a healthy dose of reality, and ones that are designed to help you bounce back from a bad day (or worse).

Confidence boosters

These positive self-talk phrases will help you visualize success for your next presentation, a job interview, or facilitating a weird Zoom birthday party.

• “You got this!”
• “I communicate like a pro.”
• “Nobody can ________ like I can.”
• “Confidence, baby, confidence! I make confidence contagious and it’s a superpower!”
• “I am worthy of this moment.”

Grounding yourself

These positive self-talk phrases will help you put circumstances in perspective.

• “It’s just business.”
• “Doing the right thing isn’t easy.”
• “Lots of little things are bigger than one or two big things.”
• “Going slow is the best thing for me.”
• “I don’t fully know the impact that I’ve had on this place and its people.”

Bouncing back

These positive self-talk phrases will help you build resilience by recovering with confidence from tough experiences.

• “Discomfort unleashes growth. I grew from this experience.”
• “This too shall pass.”
• “It’s okay to have a bad day.”
• “Failing is learning.”
• “Have a short memory like a hockey goalie who gets lit up in the Stanley Cup Finals has a short memory. And then move on.”

How might you apply or adapt these positive self-talk phrases in your work and life? What should get added to the list? What does not fit?