SFH #63: Introducing Mantra Monday
A simple and fun approach
Hi Friend 👋
Each Monday from here out, I will introduce a new mantra and a reflection on its use to raise our healthy vibrations. 🎉
Before we dive in, let's get an understanding of the power and reasoning behind a mantra. The term 'mantra' dates back at least 3500 years and has a diverse and rich historical context. The definition has been debated for some time around its function, structure, and general linguistic use.1 For simple, fun, and healthy application purposes, I'm taking a more modern approach. We will look at the version of a mantra as an affirming phrase or statement repeated to oneself for awareness and ascension of thought, belief, and actions. We are using the science behind self-affirmation theory when we act consistently on these mantras.2
For the first mantra this week (courtesy of my friend and terrific coach Kristen Sargent):
'I am exactly where I need to be!'
Kristen suggested this mantra to me a couple of weeks ago as I was running through my recurring systematic thought process of analyzing the status of my life. Sound familiar to you?! How do your doubts or sidetracks come up?
I like to joke about how I can learn all these healthy practices and systems, but the application is a whole other game. 😳 I appreciated Kristen's suggestion for the reminder in the power of a regular affirming statement (mantra) and the effectiveness in staying present to what is. What learning is here? What are the opportunities to grow?
It's pretty easy to evaluate our successes, failures, and path along the way retrospectively. From there, we can quickly assess and judge our current status and trajectory. We all do it. It's human nature. The real trick is not letting the judgment slide and staying as present as possible. For example, we can make a mistake like leaving a car door unlocked and experience a break-in. From there, the easy judgment is always to make sure you lock your car door after you park. Letting it slide beyond the present learning may be thinking about all the ways someone could still break into your car or, worse, how you could be the victim of other crimes. There is a theory behind these irrational fears that can be seen in our individual and cultural approaches to terrorism.3 In Yuval Noah Harari's book 'Sapiens,' in which he devotes an entire chapter on this issue, he sums up the problem with the statement, "The most dangerous thing about terrorism is the over-reaction to it." I use this extreme example because our minds like to take us to acute outcomes, and it's rare for us to have an awareness of how we got there. I was merely rewinding and fast-forwarding my life in a loop a few years, and it was derailing my confidence and grounding taking me to unlikely and irrational stories in my head. 🧐
This is why I value the approach of grounding back with a self affirming statement. I’ve actually been writing it the last 10 days as well as saying it aloud to myself and others. It’s keeping me present, it’s keeping me focused--I'm exactly where I need to be. 🤩
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065260108602294
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2019.1608951