What Can I Say Instead? – A Confidence-Building, Thought Reframing Worksheet for Teens

A printable confidence-building worksheet designed to help young people recognise unhelpful thoughts and practise replacing them with kinder, more empowering ones.

Negative self-talk can have a big impact on confidence, resilience, and emotional wellbeing, especially for children and teens who are still learning how to manage challenges, mistakes, and self-doubt. “What Can I Say Instead?” is a simple yet meaningful activity that encourages young people to pause, reflect, and reframe the thoughts they say to themselves every day.

Using relatable examples such as “This is too hard for me!” and “I can’t do anything right,” this worksheet helps children explore healthier ways of thinking while building emotional awareness and self-confidence.

About This Resource

This engaging printable worksheet invites children and teens to rewrite negative or unhelpful thoughts into more supportive, balanced, and encouraging statements. With a fun hand-drawn design and open-ended response spaces, it creates a safe and approachable way to explore emotions, mindset, and self-belief.

Perfect for use at home, in classrooms, counselling sessions, wellbeing programs, or therapy settings, this resource encourages meaningful conversations around confidence, resilience, and positive self-talk.

Features

• Printable confidence and self-esteem worksheet
• Encourages positive self-talk and growth mindset thinking
• Includes relatable negative thought examples
• Open-ended format encourages reflection and creativity
• Child-friendly and teen-friendly design
• Suitable for individual, small group, or classroom use
• Black and white printable format for easy printing

Benefits

• Helps children challenge negative thinking patterns
• Encourages resilience and emotional awareness
• Builds confidence and self-belief
• Supports healthy coping strategies
• Promotes a kinder inner voice
• Encourages reflection and discussion
• Develops social-emotional learning skills

How to Use

Children and teens read each negative thought on the worksheet and practise rewriting it into a more positive, supportive, or realistic statement. Encourage them to think about what they would say to a friend in the same situation and apply that same kindness to themselves.

This activity can be used as:

• A wellbeing warm-up activity
• A counselling or therapy discussion tool
• A classroom SEL activity
• A confidence-building exercise at home
• A reflection activity during difficult moments

Encourage Positive Thinking and Confidence

Help children and teens develop a healthier inner voice with this engaging confidence-building worksheet designed to support emotional wellbeing, resilience, and positive self-talk skills. Become a member and download now!