What’s Your Powerful Mantra for 2009?

A while back, a colleague sent me a piece with Guy Kawasaki’s thinking on the matter of mantra vs. mission statement.  Guy, a former Apple Evangelist and now a Venture Capitalist, is an ardent supporter of individuals and organizations having mantras rather than mission statements. It was no surprise that my knowing colleague had sent this to me.  The idea of having a mantra for the New Year appealed almost instantaneously!  My Indian DNA quite relished this concept and could contemplate the many possibilities.

I began to explore the “Mantra for the year idea” with some of my coachees when discussing their goals and vision for the year ahead.  What unfolded in the coaching sessions was interesting.   I noticed that many of my coachees already had some existing theme in their coaching conversations with me.  And not too long after introducing the idea of having a personal mantra for the year, we would arrive at something they liked and felt they owned.  Some examples of their mantras include: taking decisive action, having effortless flow, reaching for the stars, creating massive value, being in the moment, “challenge and stretch” and elegant synchronicity. 

Mantras are effective because they tap into what is important to us at the core level of our value base. Compared to the more formal mission statements, mantras tend to be powerful because they hit the mark almost instantaneously. It engages the right brain as well as the heart and spirit along with left-brain thinking - the best of our IQ, EQ and SQ. And like our core value base, we can resort to our mantras during the year when we are challenged, stretched and or need to make a decision.  In such instances, good questions to ask include “what truly matters here?”  “what do I stand for in this situation?” and or “in light of my mantra, what might be the best decision here?”  Your mantra could help you navigate your way from a perspective you may not have had previously. 

Incidentally, according to the Vedas - ancient scriptures or revelation of the Hindu teachings, Sanskrit mantras with their unique sounds backed by one’s mental intent have been known to have immense power.

Your “Mantra” reflection: 

• 1) Have you noticed any emerging themes for you this year?
• 2) Where would you like some stretch in your personal and professional life?
• 3) What might be an apt mantra and touchstone for you in 2009?

Be experimental. Play with the idea until you get the feeling of having arrived at the right one for you. And keep the following in mind: Insight alone may not be enough. However, insight combined with ” behaviour change” will result in you achieving your desired outcomes.

Jasbindar Singh is a business psychologist, executive coach, author and speaker.  Her expertise is in the areas of leadership development, career and life fulfillment and harnessing EQ and SQ for higher performance and employee engagement.  She is the author of Get Your Groove Back and co-author of No Body’s Perfect. To have her speak on this or related topics at your conference you can also contact her at www.sqconsulting.co.nz. You can also subscribe to her free six-weekly SQ-zine at http://www.SQconsulting.co.nz/form.php.