Create Your Personal Mantra - It Works Wonders!

If you ever spent more than 6 months in a row hitting the gym (or doing anything else for that matter), you are well aware of the saturation this constant repetition of activity can create. There comes a day when you just cannot force yourself out of the bed and into that stale aired torture room for a new round of hurt. This is how I see my gym on these days and I have to admit - I get really irritated by my own attitude. So, I needed something to help me through this rough patch, but I just couldn't seem to find what I was looking for: I was never considering drugs or steroids as means for reaching any goals and most of the supplements that promise these effects (like fat burners and NO-boosters) left me drained after their effects wear off. I needed something sustainable and chem-free. So, instead of walking into a pharmacy I decided to find answers in a bookstore. Luck would have it that I ran into my friend Laura, who happens to be one of my favorite writers as well. We discussed my problem over a cup of tea and after a short pause she just shot out this simple but incredibly effective solution:

"Why don't you come up with a mantra that will help you motivate yourself"?

Well, I would have never thought of that myself, especially because I was never a literary kind a guy. I didn't know where to start, what to focus on, which words should I use,...it pretty much seemed like an impossible task. Luckily, I had Laura to snap me out of the million-excuses-not-to-do-it loop and help me begin.

The first thing I needed to do is think of what this mantra is supposed to help me do. The answer was easy - I needed more will power to push me to train hard even when I don't feel like it.

"All right, now tell me if you can think of something symbolic that incorporates this notion", said Laura.

Well, that wasn't too hard as well since the obvious symbol for me was - a warrior. I immediately imagined a Spartan hoplite defending his city-state with shield and spear in his hands, standing his ground between two ends of a broken wall. This was going to become my mantra's cornerstone.

"Now, imagine the perfect version of yourself - the person you wish to become with all the qualities and abilities this improved projection possesses. Your mantra should empower you every step of the way towards becoming this new "you" through repetition and imprinting the message in your subconscious mind. From there it will keep feeding back everything you incorporate in it".

And that was the hardest part. I made at least 30 versions before I came up with something I wouldn't mind saying in front of the mirror every morning, while making my tough-guy face - it took me three days to come up with this:

My mind is my fortress, my body is my legion. I have fallen countless times and risen up from my own ashes. I have been broken by others and by my own hand but every time I rebuilt myself bigger, faster, better. I do not suffer defeats, I celebrate them for they are my ultimate driving force. I do not lose - I postpone my victories. I have crossed staggering over my own limitations, tattered and torn, bathed in my own sweat, blood, and tears, but I did it and now I have new ones to stagger over once again. Today I will add a stone to my fortress and a soldier to my legion - today I grow stronger.