If you’ve been following me for a while now, you probably that I have a huge love for mantras, affirmations, and anything along those lines. Today I wanted to talk a little more about choosing a mantra and why it’s so great to have if you’re healing from PTSD, dealing with anxiety, struggling to stay focused, etc. I went live in my facebook group last night talking about choosing a mantra so I thought it made sense to come write about it here as well.

What is a mantra?

To put it simply, a mantra is a word or phrase used to help adjust your mindset and cause a certain thought to take root. This way, it can act as a guide for your thoughts, emotions, feelings, actions and reactions. Mantras have been used for ages to calm your mind, reduce stress, promote healing and help us get from Point A to Point B. (I’ve found that they can be especially helpful when healing from PTSD.)

How can a mantra help me?

A mantra can help different people in different ways. But one of the most common ways is to help to quiet the mind and reduce anxiety. That makes this really great to have in your pocket during trigger moments! When you repeat a mantra, you are focusing your mind on a single thought, which can help to quiet the other thoughts that may be causing anxiety, stress or distraction.

A mantra can help to create a sense of safety and security. For example, someone with PTSD might feel like the world is a dangerous and unpredictable place. By repeating a mantra that creates a sense of safety and security, such as “I am safe” or “I am protected,” you can begin to shift your perception of the world and feel more grounded. Similarly, someone who is feeling anxious might choose something like “I am capable” or “I can do this.”

A mantra can also help to promote healing. By repeating a mantra that promotes healing, such as “I am healing” or “I am getting better every day,” you can actually strengthen your belief in yourself and your ability to heal.

It’s important to make sure that whatever you choose feels right and powerful to you, so that it is easier to put your belief and energy behind it. The one I started with, that to be honest, I still return to when I’m feeling the need, is “Even though what happened happened, I will be okay because I am strong and I am healing.” So mine was a longer one and that worked really well for me, but you need to figure out what works best for you because different types of mantras are going to work in different ways for different people. It can also change over time. For instance, right now, my current mantra is “slow down.” It’s a very personal process.

How to use a mantra:Once you have chosen your mantra, here are some possible ways to use it:

Set your intentions.

What is it that you want to achieve? What are your goals for the mantra? Is it more self-compassion or stronger boundaries, learning to say no or maybe learning to say yes depending on the situation? Less nightmares or more positive connections? You want to create an association between this intention and your mantra so that you can stay connected. So keep this intention in the back of your mind as you repeat the mantra to yourself.

Now, this is where you have some options.

One way of doing it is to just start repeating it to yourself.

You can say it out loud, in your head, or write it down. You can set a timer for ten minutes and just sit there repeating it or you can go a more relaxed route of just saying it throughout the day when you feel stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed.

Visuals and journaling

Create a visual of your mantra and put it somewhere that you’ll see often. It can be simple- just words on paper. Or it can be fancy and beautifully designed- whatever motivates you to look at it and take note of it. Also try writing it out again and again each day in your journal. Even if you don’t go back and read your journal entries, for many people, the simple act of writing something can help it take route deeper in your mind.

(As I mentioned in my word of the year post last week, as well as in my live training last night, I can help you to create a completely custom journal for this process, burning your mantra right into the cover! Just reach out to me if you’re interested!

Pay attention to the results

Once you’re repeating, writing, reading, hearing your mantra all the time, you want to make sure that you are paying attention to the way that you’re thinking and feeling. Notice how the mantra is effecting your life. Are you more focused and more present? Are you thinking more positively and strongly about yourself and the world around you? Making changes to be more in tune with who and where you want to be? Your mantra should be helping you to be more in touch with your goals and more in control of how you feel, act and react.

The right mantra is important.

Having a mantra can be super effective as long as you’re willing to do the work and make sure that you’re choosing the right one. Again, choose a mantra that resonates with you, set your intention, and then repeat repeat repeat.

If you need help creating the perfect mantra, you can either grab my free affirmations quiz or I have a training for that in my facebook group and I’d love to support you. Pop on over to get instant access, or shoot me a message for a direct link to the training. It’s a multi-part training that includes a lot of information about mantras, and I also guide you through two different methods of forming your perfect mantra. The goal is to leave the training with a mantra to try.

If you do create a mantra and give this a shot, feel free to come tell me how it’s working out for you because I would absolutely LOVE to hear all about it and help cheer you on.

2023 was a busy year for me, and I am SO ready to slow down in 2024. That’s why I’ve decided to make it my mantra for the new year.

Not just a New Year’s Resolution…

For as long as I can remember, almost everyone I knew set a new year’s resolution every year on January 1st. Promises to go to the gym, to lose weight, to quit smoking, to get organized, to make more money… They were always super into it at first, but then it would start getting harder and eventually felt impossible. Moods would plummet, self worth would lessen, and they would get angry with themselves. That, or they would just give up. (Sound familiar?)

I actually read somewhere that a lot less than half of people are actually able to keep their new year’s resolutions. Too many unrealistic goals or maybe just too many goals… Not enough progress so you start to lose momentum…

Choosing a word instead.

Towards the end of 2019, I started seeing a lot of posts all over social media talking about choosing a word of the year instead. I found it super intriguing and decided to look more into it. Everything I read seemed encouraging! Instead of committing to a resolution that may be unrealistic or lose your interest after a while, you chose a simple word or short phrase. That becomes your guide for your decisions and for how you spend your time and thoughts. It’s how you are deciding to show up. What I really love about it is that it is something that can adapt with you as you grow and change throughout the year. This makes is more achievable, but still powerful. All you have to do is be intentional.

In 2022, I chose fearless.

I looked at my old journal and this is what I wrote:

“For 2022, I’ve decided to be fearless. It’s going to be hard and tricky at times, but I’ve thought really hard about it and I’m determined to make it happen. Not only determined, but excited. I’m done holding myself back because I’m afraid of what might happen. 2022 is going to be different. I’m going to be different.”

I had spent so much of my life making my decisions based on fear. The fear of not being enough, of not being loved, of not being perfect, of getting hurt again… I was terrified to ask for help or to say no to people and things that did not serve me, and I was sick of living that way. So the year became about boundaries- ones I was setting for my interactions with others and ones for interacting with myself.

I decided to no longer let my fear and anxiety rule my life. No longer would I hold myself back or keep myself small. It was a lot of work, but the result was a much more confident and happier me! Of course, there were still days where I was full of fear, but I showed up anyway. And I was really proud of everything I was able to achieve.

In 2023, I chose follow-through.

I chose follow-through because I felt stuck. Stuck with my business, stuck with friendships, stuck with weight loss or with my home renovations. I would start things with excitement, feeling motivated and powerful… But then as the newness started to wear off, so did my motivation. There were always reasons or excuses to stop. I realized that I was getting in my own way. I realized that if I wanted to be able to accomplish anything, I had to start following-through. The result? I stopped letting myself give up when I got close to success. If I said I was going to do something, I did it. I had to find a lot of ways and tricks to navigate my multi-passionate, hard-to-focus brain, but I did it! And it resulted in so many accomplishments and achievements. I managed to make things happen that I’d dreamed about for years!

And so that brings us to 2024. The year where I will intentionally ‘slow down’.

When we’re constantly in that go-go-go mentality, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. We get tangled up in all of our ambitions and commitments and don’t always take the time to rest or appreciate all that we have. That was me in 2023. The year was absolutely full of accomplishments, which I’m very proud of. However, there were also a lot of points where it felt like a blur. Points where I may have missed out on the simple pleasures of everyday life with my husband, kids and family. And so for 2024, I plan to slow down.

I’m not abandoning my drive or my ambition, but I will be more adamant about enjoying the present moment, celebrating the things I’ve accomplished and enjoyed the life that my hard work has provided for me.

I’ve also realized that I allowed my body to take a beating this past year.

Living with fibromyalgia, I know that I’m supposed to listen to my body and not overdo it. I know the value and importance of rest and self-care. There were points in my determination to see things through that I ignored the signs that my body needed a break. I pushed through and ended up sick or bed-ridden for days at a time. And so this year, I’m determined not to fall back into that pattern again. I will be nurturing myself and making sure that I’m getting plenty of rest.

I want to reconnect with the things that make life worth living.

For me, that includes things like painting just to paint and not because of a commission. It means taking the time to prepare meals with love, making sure to choose ingredients that I feel good about and that make us feel good in return. It means making sure that my home is clean and uncluttered, warm and comfortable. It means sleeping when I need to sleep and allowing myself to cancel plans when I need a break. I want date nights out with my husband or nights where we plan to do nothing but sit on the couch and enjoy each others company to reinforce and deepen our connection. Making time for yoga or kickboxing or a walk in nature when I need to destress and not feeling guilty about needing a little me time…

Most importantly, it means focusing on my beautiful children, growing so fast that I’m afraid to blink. I don’t want to miss a moment, a laugh, a milestone… I want to be fully present and in order to do that, I know I need to slow down. I can’t let myself be trapped by ghosts of the past or constantly worry about my future. It’s all about the present- right now, with the people I love. They are absolutely the most important thing in my life and I want to make sure that I honor that in every way that I can.

I will not be stopping or quitting or giving up.

I am still going to set goals and work out ways to make them happen. Still make sure that I’m following my calling, living with purpose, making an impact and contributing positively to society in a way that I can be proud of. But I will also slow down and take time for all of these things that also matter. I’m going to listen to my body, my heart and my soul in order to find the balance that I need to fully enjoy my life.

In 2024, I will slow down and make sure that I am living deliberately and intentionally.

Will you be setting a mantra for the new year?

If so, but you’re struggling to figure out what it should be, I highly recommend journaling to figure it out! That was how I figured out what to chose for me over the last few years.

As you may know, journaling is my go-to tool to reccomend for figuring out our minds or our hearts. I really think it’s one of the best things we can turn to. And if you need a journal, feel free to reach out to me and I can help create a personalized one for you. If you have your word already, I can custom even make you a journal with that word burned across the cover so that you have a visual reminder to inspire you all year long.

Here’s an example of the one I made for myself with my ‘word’ of the year:

Still having trouble or not sure how to apply your new mantra? I’d love to coach you through it. You can check out my coaching offers here for a one to one exeprience or head over to my facebook group for more of a community style support.

Tag: new year

Choosing a Mantra: Your Intentional Guide