1 November 2019

Be it sport, business or just life in general, we are often thrown curve balls that have the ability to hit us for a six and take the wind out of our sails. For some people it happens every day, whilst for others it could be just every so often. Regardless, how we contend with these curve balls, can see us rise to the occasion and be successful, or fall in a heap and never reach our objectives. Even the great Muhammad Ali had to work hard to create firm conviction to overcome many hardships.When I was younger, I loved the lines that Muhammad Ali would sprout before matches. I didn’t realise it at the time, but he was the master of using Mantras. He would use these affirmations to keep himself positive and propel greater performance, and use negative sayings towards his opponents to gain the psychological advantage. Like Muhammad Ali, the one thing nearly all successful people have in common is a Mantra.

A Mantra helps to bring confidence to the fore, making it so much easier to exude success. Mantra’s are powerful 2-5 word phrases which can build self-belief, allowing you to stand up against even the most adverse conditions in life and propel you to do your best.When faced with stress the body’s reaction is dictated by the mind, so if we can control the mind we control those sweaty palms, increased muscle tension, dry mouth, nausea, or even palpations. After all there is nothing worse than sweat dripping off your face whilst trying to have a serious conversation. Studies show that using a Mantra, can reduce stress, improve focus and even fight against ageing. So, it’s no wonder that many successful people use a mantra to get them through the problems each day. What successful people realise is that these are tough times are going to occur and they make a pact with themselves to not let it control them, and in doing so, build their resilience and mental toughness by stating their mantra, over and over again.How to create your Mantra:

A Mantra should be easy to remember, propel you into action, and help maintain your focus. To be really effective, it should display your ATTITUDE and BEHAVIOUR and spark ENERGY to keep you on track. To determine what attitude the statement should contain, ask yourself the following question, "If I were the best I could be, how would I look and act?" For example: shining, calm, dominating or determined. Take your time in making it both personal and believable for you. When you achieve this it will then give you the most benefit. To provide the spark of energy it is also important that the statement remains positive.

Examples of Mantra’s:
• It’s time to shine
• Breathe, believe, and battle
• Keep calm and carry on
• It's not the destination, it's the journey
• Man up
• Steady, ready, poised, winning