Our culture is rife with short statements designed to spur action: ”just do it”, “work hard, play hard”, “one day at a time”, “make it or break it”, “no pain, no gain” and so on. Do any of these speak to you? Why or why not?
In our last post we said we would be providing you with ideas for developing personal mantras according to your own challenges, talents, and ideas for turbo charging yourself!
Remember, effective mantras are short, positive, directive, and energetic. One strategy is to stick with pairing a verb with an adjective or noun related to your desired feeling or end result. Verbs get your blood and energy moving and nouns and adjectives tell you how to harness that impulse. You might string two sets of verb/noun or verb/adjective together to tap into two dimensions of a challenge or opportunity.
Some verbs to consider: be, think, live, feel, act, hold, embrace, notice, see, realize, honor, allow, explore.
And adjectives: strong, fast, calm, fluid, present, powerful, flexible, capable, open, focused.
Or nouns: love, peace, tenacity, equanimity, control, patience, victory, possibility, change
You may need to play around a bit to find what really works for you. Maybe “Be present, Feel equanimity” helps you stay calm when under stress. Or maybe you are more of a “Be Powerful, Feel In Control” kind of person. Or you may prefer a more developed but still short and actionable statement, like “Stand in Power” or “Breathe in Patience” or “Patience now, Play later.”
In my life, I know I have many blessings yet am not immune from complaining about things that really aren’t that big of a deal. So I’m playing with a mantra to use in the face of these petty complaints. Don’t feel like going to they gym? Or playing yet another round of Monopoly with my daughter? I say to myself “Because I Can!” and count my blessings. Ok, it doesn’t work every time but I’m still practicing!
Let us know what you come up with and what works for you!
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