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Why you need a mantra and how to find yours

Now, before you switch off and decide this isn’t for you, people use mantras for everything from yoga to business to achieving better performance in sports. So why shouldn’t you have one? Dive in to find out what a mantra is and how to find yours.
Ok, so before you click away and satisfy yourself with the thought that this is some hippy-dippy blog about inner peace and meditation, let’s start by talking about what mantras are and what they’re used for. We’ll start by looking at what they’re used for traditionally, and then take a look at how they can be useful in other ways. Ready? Ommmmm-wards. Hah. Just kidding!

What is a mantra?

The word mantra has profound meaning in a Hindu and a Buddhist spiritual sense. It originates from 18th century Sanskrit, and literally means ‘a thought’ or ‘a thought behind speech or action’. When the term mantra is used in meditation, it’s used as a tool to replace incessant or irritating thoughts. A mantra, in meditation, is a tool to ‘quiet the mind’. It’s essentially a word or collection of sounds that is repeated in order to focus the mind.
And the ability of a mantra to silence our inner chatter has been well-researched and is very much backed by science. A 2015 study by the Weizmann Institute of Science reviewed the effects of repetitively reciting a mantra on brain activity. The study’s results found that the act of silently repeating a mantra did, in fact, help to quiet the part of the brain that’s associated with intrinsic, self-related processes. The researchers felt that this could explain why mantras have such a calming effect.

But mantras are for more than just meditation

Yes, a mantra is helpful for meditation, but it can also do a lot more than that. In Hinduism and Buddhism, mantras are used to help achieve a state of spiritual transcendence and induce a state of altered consciousness. But for our purposes, they’re most helpful in quietening down incessant brain chatter, helping to filter out negative thoughts and they can be especially helpful with reinforcing and remembering positive self talk.
It’s natural to have a negative voice in your head. In fact, it’s natural to have a voice in your head, full stop. As MasterFasters, you’ll know how to deal with this voice, using tools like meditation, exercise and positive self-talk. But you may not have taken the leap into developing a mantra for yourself, because of time restrictions or because it simply seemed a little too woo-woo.
But try to think of a mantra as just another way of talking to yourself positively. Another way of inviting your inner cheerleader to talk a little more often. Below are some ways and some examples of positive mantras that you can use to be your own BFF.

Some good examples of mantras

Your mantra can be anything you want it to be, really. But the most effective ones tend to be simple, strong, beautiful words that feel true to you. Any words that reinforce positivity, self-love, and that just generally make you feel awesome. The most important thing is that you believe it. If it doesn’t have meaning to you, if it doesn’t ring true, it’s not going to be effective.
Some examples of personal mantras are:
  • I am enough
  • I am one of a kind
  • I deserve this
  • I am strong
  • I am powerful
  • I can do anything I set my mind to
  • I am worthy of my dreams
  • Small steps every day
  • I can do this
  • I am [insert your full name]
  • I’ve got this

Finding your own mantra

The search for a mantra can be long and arduous. Or it can be short and simple. You may borrow the words from someone else to begin with, you may borrow one of our examples above, or you may find you already have the words yourself. One of our MasterFasters, Rosie, for example, told us she realised her own mantra when she found herself repeating it regularly. “I hadn’t even consciously decided to find a mantra, but the words just came and they felt right. So I kept repeating them. Then in the office one day, we were talking about mantras and I realised I had one, even though I hadn’t consciously decided that it would become one.”

Typically, the best way to find your mantra is to ask yourself what you need to hear. Rosie told us, “The whole ‘I deserve to achieve my dreams’ thing felt kind of insincere to me, even though I wanted to become this amazing person, and I have a lot of big dreams. And the mantras about being strong and amazing and powerful (although they’re great) didn’t ring true either. So I kind of tweaked them a little and came to “I am gradually becoming the person I was always meant to be.” It landed for me because it felt sincere. It felt true. I don’t feel like, right now, I’m the person I was meant to be. But I feel like I’m getting there.” Although she didn’t actively search for a mantra, she came to the conclusion that she found one because she needed to hear that she was making progress, that she was “getting there”, that she was “on her way to becoming an amazing person.”

Here are some more tips to help you find your personal mantra:

  1. Ask yourself “What do I most need to hear?” “When do I most need to hear it?”
  2. Try a few mantras on for size and see if they ring true, you might be surprised
  3. For the ones that don’t feel right, consider what it is about them that doesn’t fit
  4. Tweak or change the words until they do feel right
  5. Look for words that feel sincere, true and honest to you.

Once you’ve found the purpose

It may take a little while to find the right words. But you will get there. And once you find the purpose of your mantra, the right words will come. The purpose of your mantra can be anything from mastering negative self talk to reinforcing persistence and determination.  For negative self-talk, head for the exact opposite of what the negative voice says. For example, if the negative voice says things like “I am hopeless”, “I am stupid” or “I can’t do this!” then replace that with something like “I am amazing”, “I am smart” or “I can do this.” For reinforcing persistence and determination, something like “every journey begins with a single step” or “you don’t have to see the whole staircase” works well, especially if you have trouble getting started.

Once you know the purpose of your mantra, you just need to turn it into a statement, as if it’s already something you have. For example, if you are yearning for financial security, you might say: “I have everything I need to live an abundant, generous life!” Alternatively, if you’re seeking a more exciting, adventurous lifestyle, you might say something along the lines of: “I am open and ready for new exciting adventures!” Alternatively, if you’re feeling a little fearful, worried or neglected, you may prefer something along the lines of “I am safe, I am secure, I am loved.” 

Then, repeat

Your first mantra might not be exactly right but stick with it. Commit to it for a few days. Repeat it. See how you feel. Once you feel like it’s sitting well, once it feels true and sincere, write it up on your mirror. Make it your wallpaper. Print it out and stick it to the fridge. Repeat, repeat, repeat it until you believe the words to be true.

How did you go with creating your mantra? Are you ready to share it with us? If so, please do so in the Members’ Facebook Group. We’d love to know what your mantra is and what the process was like for you.

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