Getting Our Mantra Right for 2016

Can my 2016 mantra encourage this curious/crazy behavior?

Mantras are the hymns of our times … the sacred message, the instrument of thought.

A mantra provides a great place to start the New Year. In Hindu and Buddhist practices, they offer a word or sound on which to focus concentration. In our society, they’ve morphed into slogans, advertising jingles, and platforms.

A mantra paints the backdrop of what has come before but offers the direction for the future. Unlike my list of objectives for 2015 that ended in the out-of-sight-out-of-mind folder deep inside a long-unused computer app, a mantra should have ever-presence.

A mantra should be reinforcing. My 2015 “I think I can, I think I can,” came from the childhood book The Little Engine That Could. It gave me encouragement that I could enter into the new book-seller’s mindset.

A mantra should be challenging. For 2016, I looked to the ever-present Star Wars and played with, “Where no woman has gone before,” and “May the force be with me.” Banal. Ineffective. Inappropriate.

A mantra should be something you can bond with. At coffee, a friend slid across the table a quote that I fell in love with: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

Placed squarely in front of me at my desk and at the end of each email, it fueled my most recent post Three Questions You Should Ask Before You Donate. Be bold! I shouted to myself as I wrote. BE CLEAR! I reminded myself in uppercase letters. Be direct! I re-emphasized with another exclamation point!

Something lacked. In my blog post, I was honest, targeted, and right. However, I held no compassion. There are so many directors of small non-profits who are holding down full-time jobs while trying to “do good” in their off hours. I’m not backing off on the three questions to ask before we give, just on the way we should query the charity. Do it with, empathy, tolerance, and concern.

A mantra should be adjusted to fit. I changed my hard-charging mantra to reflect a certain kindness: “Life begins COMPASSIONATELY! at the end of your comfort zone.”

Happy New Year. May you find the mantra that reflects your 2016.

P.S. For facing your fears, see how others did it, Epic Challenge: 30 Days of Fear. Or write your own mantra in three easy steps.