A mantra is defined as a sacred utterance, or a syllable, word, or group of words believed by some to have psychological and spiritual power. Before I lose you and you think I am getting all woo-woo… hear me out. The Sanskrit word mantra consists of the root man- “to think” (also in manas “mind”) and the suffix -tra, designating tools or instruments, so the literal translation would be “instrument of thought” – I believe mantras shape your thoughts.
Especially lately these have become even more important in our office (and personal life) for making decisions, changing mindset and getting things done.
Thanks to all of you for the overwhelming responses, emails, phone calls, tweets and comments on our recent blog about my recent addiction to running – wow the blog certainly struck a chord with people.
Over the years I have heard many mantras and here are a few of my faves that we call on to accelerate our execution:
Renowned communications expert Stacey Hanke says ‘it is Monday to Monday’– meaning we need to be consistent every day with our communications (and of course this applies to other areas of life too).
I have adapted one from thought leader Matt Church; our version is ‘if it’s not yes, it’s no’. The simplicity of this liberates us and allows us to make decisions quickly, especially if we are feeling a little overwhelmed or we are running at a crazy pace.
One of my friends who has an ah-mazing story and has run marathons and overcome enormous challenges has a brilliant one: ‘Relax. Savor. Enjoy’. I shared this with a friend when she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and it helped her reach the top. Another one I love is ‘just do it, you’ll be so glad you did’. I find myself using that many times.
My latest tattoo says ‘be ah-mazing’ – I want to constantly be in awe of the world around me and enjoy it fully every day. It’s another one of my mantras.
To assist prepare for my marathon this November I have been collecting mantras to help in training. I have been pinning them like crazy (if we aren’t connected on Pinterest let’s do that). While running mantras may not be necessary yet I know when times get tougher I will call on them and will have trained my mind to use them.
Maybe you don’t want to run a marathon however you might have something you want to achieve and a mantra can help you do that, just keep going, don’t give up.
Do you have any favorite mantras in your everyday? We’d love to hear your thoughts and stories how you use them, share your ideas with us here on our blog.
Words change the world. The words we tell ourselves. The words we share with others. We blogged about this a while back and you might enjoy the great YouTube video that accompanies it.
PS. If you want more ideas on how to increase your productivity – check out other blogs here and several eBooks you can share with your team.
