For those of us that struggle with positive self-talk, or at least remembering to plug into our positive self-talk, mantras can be really helpful.

In my mind a mantra is like the headline to the full newspaper article. If we’ve read the article, the headline can trigger us to remember the information in the larger article.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a mantra as “a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation.” I think it can be extremely helpful in meditation, but it can also be expanded as a shortcut to a certain thought or mental state.

Some of my favorite mantras lately are:

1. Feelings are not Facts – just because you are feeling like a failure, if you objectively look at how you’re doing, you most likely will see progress. I find this very helpful in weight-loss circumstances. I may have way over-eaten last night and the scale says horrible things today and I feel like I’ve gained ten pounds overnight. Feelings are not facts. I have not ruined my entire progress in one day. That’s not how calories or energy works. Probably I had too much salt and it’ll sort itself out in a couple days.
2. Minimize the Damage – My mom also refers to this concept as “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. Just because you’ve made one mistake/misstep/screw up, does not mean you should give up the whole fight. Do what you can to minimize the damage and start again tomorrow. Life is long. Attention spans are short. Just about every mistake can be eased, fixed, minimized, with time and energy. Stay the course and do better next time.
3. Look for the Good – This is a tried and true one in my family. As a child I watched the movie Pollyanna a lot. We played the “glad game” often. It’s a fun challenge to take whatever circumstances may seem depressing or difficult and find something to be glad about in it.
4. Never up, Never in – You have to try. Under preparation is a coping strategy for stress. You can protect your ego from feelings of failure by convincing yourself you didn’t really “try”. I have done this a lot. It’s hard to overcome, especially if you have neurodivergent complications (hello ADHD!) But really committing yourself to a goal you are not certain you can accomplish, is a huge component of personal growth.
5. Get comfortable being uncomfortable – as adults, we often stop learning new things and just start refining the things we already know. This then makes us even less willing to try brand new things. Stretch yourself. Learn a new thing. Be terrible at something. This will help you have more sympathy for others you encounter, but also it will help you stay inspired and sharp and build self-confidence. Being terrible at something and allowing yourself to be terrible at it and still keep going, is a really valuable component of personal development and mental health. Try things.

It’s hard to juggle all the self-care, personal development, self-improvement, mental health, wisdom that you’re supposed to keep in mind to be your best self. A shortcut mantra to help remember the bigger idea when you need it can be a huge help to keep you on a positive track.