The Power Of Mantras

The word “mantra” is derived from an ancient Sanskrit word meaning “to think.” In some cultures, a mantra is a specific type of sound, chant, or word used to center the mind during meditation. But in the western world, it’s come to mean a phrase that captures a specific belief or philosophy.

Whether you call it a mantra, a motto, or just an inspirational quote, this type of pithy phrase appears across all cultures and traditions as a way of helping people focus on what really matters. In Christianity, memorized Bible verses or traditional prayers can serve as mantras, while athletes often choose power words to get them through a workout.

As a writer, I’m constantly surrounded by words - books piled on my nightstand, notebooks full of half-baked scribbles, and my endless inner monologue. Not many of those words are mantras, though. So in 2021, I’ve resolved to be more intentional about the language I hold close and carry with me.

Selecting my mantras for the year was the first step, and probably the most fun. There are plenty of quotes and ideas that I take inspiration from, but I decided to choose ones that were short enough to memorize and that would fit wherever I wanted to put them. I looked at plenty of sources, from famous authors to religious texts, and even some of my favorite Instagram accounts.

I searched for mantras that weren’t too aggressive, since I don’t respond well to pressure or shame. Still, I wanted ones that were active and concrete. No vague mantras for me - I needed something to really chew on. Here are the few I came up with:

Seek Joy

I chose “seek joy” as one of my 2021 mantras because it captured something I hope to focus strongly on in the coming year, which is turning my attention to the good things in life and taking time to savor happy moments. I considered alternatives, like “Focus on the positive” and “There is always sunshine,” but I decided on “seek joy” because I like the unique verb it uses.

To seek something means to actively search it out or pursue it. Seeking something doesn’t guarantee that you’ll always find it, but it does keep you pointed in the right direction. Becoming a “seeker” of joy is something that can influence who I am and what I do in all circumstances.

I also like the term “joy” rather than “happiness” or even “positivity,” because it has a deeper and more complex meaning. To me, joy is a personal sense of fulfillment and hope that can be found throughout tough situations. Even if I’m faced with a problem or unhappy moment, I can still seek joy by honoring my problem solving skills or reaching out for support.

Cheer For Opportunities

This mantra is based on something I learned from my first (and favorite) therapist. When I first started seeing her, I was struggling with severe anxiety and feeling stuck and unfulfilled in my life. I was angry about my circumstances, resentful of my past, and worn down by years of frustrating attempts to feel better.

She helped me realize that I wanted to be my “best self,” but felt like I couldn’t do that if my life wasn’t going perfectly. Sure, I wanted to be a kind and loving person, but when my roommates irritated me, I was stuck being snappy and mean! My best self was disciplined and driven, but when I ended up with an unpleasant boss, I couldn’t help but cut corners and check out.

I thought I needed to create the perfect conditions for my “best self” to emerge. But my therapist explained that it was actually the other way around! It’s easy to be our best selves when things are going well - to be generous when our resources are abundant, to be successful when our work is interesting, to be patient when we have plenty of time. It’s when things go wrong, though, that our best selves truly get an opportunity to shine.

If I really want to be a kind and loving person, then any time someone is annoying or challenging, I get an opportunity to really flex those kindness muscles. If I value sharing and generosity, then someone asking me for a big favor is a great opportunity to live those values.

“Cheer For Opportunities” reminds me to be grateful for moments when I get a chance to really be my best self. At first, I thought it was silly and even masochistic to be excited for negative experiences like dealing with aggravating people or a boring project, but then I think about my future self looking back at my actions and feeling proud and realize that any opportunity to be proud of myself or live in a way that makes me feel like my best self is certainly something to cheer for!

Channel Your Rivers

This one might take a bit more explanation. I’m from Arizona, and I grew up making trips to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and other smaller canyons all around the state. It’s incredible to see how these massive canyons were formed just by water trickling over rock. Just one little stream of water can’t form a canyon, but if water keeps running along the same spot, eventually it will carve a little groove into the stone.

Once that little groove is formed, then the next trickle of water that finds its way to the rock will naturally want to end up in the groove. Water, like everything else, follows the laws of gravity and will seek the path of least resistance. So the first place the water went becomes the next place that it will go - and that carves the groove a little deeper, making it even more likely that water will continue flowing along that exact path. The cycle continues, and eventually you have a huge geological formation with a river running through it!

What does this have to do with mantras? As it turns out, our brains are just like stones in the desert, and thoughts act like water. On a cellular level, when certain neurons fire, they get stronger, making it easier and more likely for those same neurons to fire again. Thoughts reinforce themselves by “carving grooves” into your mind, meaning that the more you think a certain thought, the stronger that thought gets. The “water” of your thoughts will seek out pathways that have already been established.

That means I need to be careful about where I let my rivers flow! If I think negative thoughts about myself, they’ll start to create a Shame Canyon that will get harder and harder to climb out of. If I focus on the things I don’t like about my life, the River of Dissatisfaction will start to develop powerful rapids.

This mantra reminds me to pay attention to where I’m directing my thoughts and what kinds of canyons are forming in my mind. I don’t want to let certain feelings or thought patterns turn into self-perpetuating loops that take over my entire perspective. Only I can control where I let the water of my thoughts run, and I plan to be intentional about what pathways become easier or harder for them to find.

Once I had my three mantras, I had to decide what to do with them! Simply picking them out wasn’t enough - I wanted to make sure they could actually influence my choices and mindset throughout the year. I decided to put them in two key places: my phone lock screen and my bathroom mirror.

I look at my phone lock screen about a zillion times per day, so it’s the perfect place to have a short phrase that I want to sear into my memory. I’m not a visual artist and sometimes get frustrated when I try to make things look nice, so I commissioned an artist friend who specializes in typography and graphic design to make me the perfect lock screen, but in the meantime I found a colorful background on Unsplash and used Canva to stick some words on it.

My bathroom mirror is also a great place for a mantra, because I look at it right when I wake up and right before I go to sleep. I used to listen to podcasts while brushing my teeth and washing my face, but now I take that time to meditate on one of my mantras. While taking care to breathe deeply, I think about how I want to live that mantra during the coming day or I reflect on how I lived it over the day that just finished.

It’s only been one month, but these mantras have started to bake themselves into my daily thoughts and routines. They’re an excellent way to check in with myself during tough times and a beacon that points me toward healthier, happier ways of living.