Take Control of Your Mind

Brad explains three keys for creating the best mantras in this sixty-second video. 

A positive mantra is a phrase you repeat in your mind that shapes your mindset.

Like when you say to yourself, “stay present, stay focused,” before an important meeting.

The right positive mantra will motivate you, focus your attention, and guide you to better results.

So, how do you choose the right mantra?

This article explores this -- with visualized personal mantras that many of you have requested from our artist, Gary Hirsch, over the years.

Prelude: Mantras Have Gone Mainstream 

Over the years, many ideas from applied improvisation have gone mainstream.

For instance, “yes, and” and “active listening.” 

Yet though they have become well-known, they are not well understood.

That’s why at On Your Feet, we teach people how to “yes, and” in strategic ways and how to “actively listen” with a focus on what others care about. 

Today, business culture is full of people obsessed with their mantras, indeed mantras have gone mainstream.

People in business and elsewhere are using mantras like: “I’m the best,” “I got this,” and “New day, new me!” 

And technically, yes, those are positive mantras, but those are not always the ones that are likely to lead to the best results.

So here’s how to create a good mantra in three steps, a bit of science, and then a list of categorical examples for inspiration.

1. Be authentic

Make it true to you. 

Whatever it is, your mantra language should be true to you, drawing from your slang, energy, or something you love, like sports, music, personal history, or poetry. 

Troy, our chief scientist, and former Walt Disney Imagineer, loves Disney so his mantra are Disney-like. When he is in innovation mode, his mantra is “To infinity and beyond,”  when giving feedback, his mantra is “You’ve got a friend in me,” and for daily decisions, his mantra is “Do the next right thing.”  

2. Keep it brief

We suggest six words or less.

If it is a paragraph-length mantra, you will have a hard time keeping it in your mind -- or sharing it with others, which can be useful.

Mariah, one of our amazing senior facilitators, likes to remind herself not to jump too quickly to conclusions when meeting new people, so her mantra is, “Choose curiosity over judgment.” 

3. Make it about others

Focus on them more than yourself. 

This is the one tip that people overlook the most! If it’s all about you, it can lead to the wrong focus and put undue pressure on yourself.  Before a presentation, don’t say “I’m awesome,” instead say, “This will be awesome for them.”  

At On Your Feet, our mantra is not “we are the smartest …” because sometimes we’re not, and even when we are, we don’t want that pressure and to be that self-focused. Instead, our constant mantra is “we can help these people.” 

Science

Your brain is limited. It can only be focused on a few things. 

At any moment, your mindset will affect which parts of your neural network are most activated, what memories are more cognitively available, and where your attentional resources are directed. 

This is why you need a specific mantra for a specific circumstance, and why a self-focused mantra like “I’m the best” or an aggressive “Let’s go!” is not always the best mantra.

If you have a mantra that is all about yourself (“I’m amazing!”) or is the wrong mantra for the situation (like “Let’s go!” when the situation needs you to calmy listen or carefully analyze) then your mantra is likely to lead you to pay attention to the wrong things. 

Take Control of Your Mind

Remember, your brain is always going to default to one mindset.

So if you do not consciously choose a mantra to control your mindset, your brain is likely to drift unconsciously into the wrong mantra.

Your brain will take a cue from the environment, fall into a habitual pattern, or respond in fight or flight mode. So, take control of your mind with the right mantra for the right situation. 

Mantras At Work

Here are a few of the focus areas that we most often get hired for and some of the mantras we teach people to have when they are engaging the following:

Executive Leadership Retreats: “Stay present and stay focused.” “Progression over perfection.” “I can learn from these people.” 

Creative Problem Solving: “What’s the real problem?”  “What’s the offer?” “Don’t try your best.”

Relational Influence: “What do they need?” “We have value they want.” “You’ve got a friend in me.”

Presentations: “I have brought you a gift.” “The audience is part of this.” “They’ve like my presentations before.” 

Feedback: “I’m here to listen.”  “Clear is kind.”  “This will help them.” 

Teamwork: “Let’s collaborate for better results.” “Let’s do enough.” “We’re on the same team.”