If you have, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Have you ever heard a quote or mantra from someone that left you feeling motivated to achieve all of your dreams? If you have, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
This is normal if it has happened to you. I think this has happened to most of us at some point in our lives. I know it has happened to me. The problem is that the initial motivation fades. The inspiration we felt after hearing the inspiring words is gone, leaving us only with exhaustion and a lack of interest in continuing to work hard to achieve our dreams.
There are some mantras that are effective, contrary to popular belief. Many successful people credit their success to a daily mantra. For example, Steve Jobs would wake up every morning and ask himself “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Similarly, Ben Franklin would wake up everyday and ask the question: “What good shall I do today?”
Potential Benefits
Meditating can be done in lots of different ways and there isn’t just one right way to do it.
Whether you practice mantra meditation or another style, you’ll often see many of the same benefits, including:
- increased self-awareness
- reduced stress
- a greater sense of calm
- increased self-compassion
- a more positive outlook
Some additional benefits of mantra meditation include:
Increased Focus
Although it may be difficult for some to learn how to meditate, it can be helpful to chant a mantra to keep your thoughts from wandering.
Reinforcement of Meditation Goals
Chanting certain syllables is thought by many meditation practitioners to help create a deeper meditative state by enabling vibrations and harmony. This deeper meditation can then help release any energy blocks that are disrupting your well-being.
You may want to choose a word or phrase that is significant to you and your reasons for meditating, such as the Sanskrit word “shanti,” which translates to “peace.”
Meditating with a word that you like the sound of can help reinforce a sense of calm.
Some people choose mantras that double as affirmations, such as:
- “I have compassion for myself and others.”
- “Every day is a new beginning.”
The phrases you choose to repeat to yourself can guide your awareness to your intentions. When you don’t see results from meditating it can be frustrating, but regularly repeating a mantra that reflects your vision for yourself can make it more likely to become reality.
Changes in the Brain
A small study from 2012 found that mantra meditation could improve brain health.
After 8 weeks of Kriya Kirtan meditation, a type of meditation that involves mantra, 15 older adults experiencing memory problems showed increases in cerebral blood flow and cognitive function. This suggests that Kriya Kirtan meditation may help to improve memory problems in older adults.
These brain changes appeared to lead to:
- improved mood and well-being
- reduced anxiety
- less fatigue
- improved visuospatial and verbal memory
Chanting mantras may help improve brain function and possibly slow cognitive decline, since it can help synchronize the left and right sides of the brain and promote relaxing (alpha) brain waves.
Better Control Over Breath
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. You may want to close your eyes. Choose a mantra and silently repeat it to yourself. A mantra is a word, phrase, or sound that is repeated over and over. Focus your attention on your breath and the mantra. If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath and the mantra.
Matching your breath to your mantra while doing meditative breathing exercises can help you feel more relaxed.
How To Do It
Choose a phrase that has meaning to you and that you can easily remember. it’s time to start using it.
Here’s how:
- Get comfortable. Find a quiet place where you can meditate without disruptions. Find a position you can hold for the length of your meditation, whether that’s sitting on the floor, in a chair, lying down, or even walking. Mudras, or hand positions, help some people enter a meditative frame of mind, but they’re not necessary.
- Set a timer. Decide how long you want to meditate (anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes) and set a timer. Consider using a quiet, relaxing sound, such as ocean waves or birdsong, so the alarm doesn’t jar you from a peaceful meditative state.
- Start with a few deep breaths. Pay attention to your breathing without doing anything to try and modify it. Just focus on the sensation of it entering your lungs and filling your body.
- Use your mantra. Continue breathing slowly and steadily through your nose as you begin to chant your mantra. You can say it out loud (this might help more with mantras intended to produce vibrations) or repeat it silently. It often helps to match the mantra to your breathing.
- Let your breath guide you. As you settle into the meditation, your mantra and breathing will eventually settle into a rhythm. Unless you’re attempting to use a specific breathing technique, following this flow may help your meditation feel more natural.
- Remember to gently redirect wandering thoughts. As you meditate, you’ll probably notice your attention begin to wander. When this happens, don’t try and force those unwanted thoughts away. Instead, just acknowledge them, let them go, and then pick the mantra back up.
- Close meditation. When your timer goes off, don’t jump up right away. Instead, take a few moments to sit with your (hopefully) quiet mind. Check in with yourself. Do you feel more relaxed? More optimistic? This closing exercise lets you check in with yourself and track your progress.
Motivational Mantras
You didn’t come all this way to only make it this far. You’ve come too far to turn back now. Keep going.
By repeating this mantra every morning, you’ll remind yourself of all the success you’ve had in your life and be ready to take on the day.
This mantra reminds us that if we quit, we would be giving up a lot.
You Get What You Focus On
Since this mantra concentrates our minds on what matters, we can avoid getting caught up in negative thinking that preoccupies us. If we say this mantra every day, it can help us remember to stay positive throughout our lives.
You can find an excuse for why you can’t do something or you can find a way to do it. If you find an excuse, it’s probably because you don’t really want to do it. But if you find a way, it means you’re committed to doing it.
There are two things you can do when you’re in a crisis: keep going or give up. Most of the time, if we keep going we can overcome whatever is in our way. However, if we start making excuses for our misfortunes or every little problem, we might end up giving up altogether.
So, use this motivational mantra to success to dust off when life tries to knock you down and keep moving forward.
I’m Doing This for Me
We often let fear control us instead of chasing our own aspirations. This isn’t about being selfish, it’s about remembering that we can’t help others if we don’t help ourselves first.
This affirmation is to remind you that you are important and that your dreams matter. It is okay for you to achieve your goals.
Action Conquers Fear
Fear is the one thing that prevents us from achieving our dreams. Overcoming fear requires action, and sometimes that action involves risk. Risk is our way of overcoming all that we fear.
Don’t Wish for It, Work for It
This mantra for success can get you out of your head and back to reality when you start daydreaming. You know what you want, so now is the time to start working for it. The difference between success and failure is the action you take today.
Our Intentions Create Our Reality
You may not believe it, but we actually get what we want out of life. The issue is that our thoughts are so negative that all we end up attracting is negativity.
If you want to be successful, start by thinking positively and intending to be great. Before long, you’ll achieve your goal.
Know Your Limitations, and Defy Them
It’s important to be aware of your limitations in order to be successful. Once you know what your weaknesses are, you can develop a plan to overcome them. Be brave and face your weaknesses instead of avoiding them.
You Miss 100% of The Shots You Don’t Take
This is a famous quote that might be a bit overused at this point, but it’s still true. If we don’t take advantage of opportunities when they’re presented to us, or even worse, if we don’t pursue them in the first place, we’re essentially guaranteed to miss out on any potential success.
It’s The Start That Stops Most People
This inspiring message suggests that it is more important to take the first step than to have all of the answers. We can sometimes get overwhelmed when we look too far ahead and only see how much there is to do. Instead, if we focus on taking the first step, it can help us to get started and make progress.
You can achieve anything you want if you give up the belief that you can’t have it.
The biggest mistake we make is thinking we can’t have what we want. If we work hard and dedicate ourselves, we can achieve any goal, whether it’s fitness, business, or personal.
There’s Plenty of Time to Rest When You’re Dead
Although it may seem dark, this last motivational mantra helps us realize that we won’t live forever. It should inspire us to accomplish everything we ever dreamed of, and not hold back because we won’t be here forever. If you have ambitions, pursue them relentlessly until you reach your goal.
Tips and Tricks
Many people find meditation challenging, boring, or unpleasant at first, but most people who stick with it find it well worth it.
The following tips can help you make meditation a regular habit.
Focus on Intentions
It might seem natural to try and reduce anxiety or other unwanted emotions by focusing on them when meditating, however this is not the most effective way to go about it.
But you may see better results when you meditate on positives, or the mindset you want:
- “I am calm.”
- “I am present.”
This generally proves more helpful than meditating on negatives, or the mindset you have right now, such as:
- “I’m not anxious.”
- “I’m not angry. “
The reason you are meditating is because you are feeling anxious or angry. It can be easy to get fixated on these negative emotions, but this can take away from the positive effects of meditation.
Meditating with the intention of achieving a specific goal can help you better visualize your success and turn that image into reality.
Try Mala Beads
A japa mala, or mala beads, can help you to be more mindful during meditation and yoga practices. They are traditionally used to assist in mantra repetition – “japa” means “to mutter” in Sanskrit.
A mala, which is a string of 108 beads, can help you keep a steady breathing rhythm during meditation. By using each bead to mark one repetition, you can also use the mala to focus on your mantra.
Feel Free to Change Your Mantra
If the first mantra you try doesn’t work well for you, try finding one that better suits your current frame of mind and meditation goals. There’s no harm in changing it if needed.
You can use different mantras every time you meditate.
You may want to focus on strength and compassion in the morning to get ready for the day, and in the evening you may want to relax and achieve a sense of internal peace.
To meditate using a mantra, you need to find a mantra that works for you.
Keep Trying
Most things, including meditation, take time to show results. For optimal benefits, stick to a regular practice.
Don’t worry about how long you meditate at first, just make it a daily habit. Eventually you’ll find it easier to extend your meditation periods.
Meditation can become more effective when done at the same time each day and in the same place. This regularity can help establish a routine.
The Bottom Line
Many people meditate for different reasons, including relaxation, developing compassion, and taking care of themselves.
A mantra is a word or phrase that is repeated during meditation. It can be anything that you find meaningful and that reflects your goals for meditation. Having a mantra can help you stay focused during meditation and get the most out of it.
