When talking about meditation, I can’t stress enough the importance of mantras. While they may not be for everyone, I find that starting the day with a quick mantra-led meditation can shift the outlook of my entire day. Mantras are great tools that can be used to focus your mind, reduce anxiety by decreasing negative thoughts, improve emotional processing by stimulating the vagus nerve, increase self-awareness, and help you focus on your goals. Simply put, mantras are phrases that you can focus on and repeat to yourself while you meditate. They generally help you to pursue a goal you have in mind for yourself and can easily help to shift your mindset as you continue to repeat them. But how do you choose the right mantra for your day? It all starts with picking your intention.

First, as I mentioned, it’s great to start as many days as you can with a quick mantra exercise. It’s very easy to get comfortable, clear your thoughts, put on a timed exercise in the Expand app if you have it, and start visualizing your day. Visualizing how you would like your day to go paves the way for success. It can show you what your priorities are and provide clarity for your routine. Adding a positive mantra to this can shift your mindset into a happy and positive one that you can hold on to throughout the day.

Mantras are great tools that can be used to focus your mind, reduce anxiety by decreasing negative thoughts, improve emotional processing by stimulating the vagus nerve, increase self-awareness, and help you focus on your goals.

So, in picking a mantra, ask yourself: What would I like to accomplish today? What would help me with that? Some examples may include:

“I will accomplish all today’s tasks with ease” if you have a busy day ahead.

“I am enough” for the days you may need a boost of confidence.

“I am full of happiness and ready to share that with the world” for the days you may need happiness.

“I am so proud of myself” for the days that you may need a bit of extra pride.

“My dreams are coming true” is another great choice if you want to accomplish all you want and more.

Whatever phrase may be calling to you—whatever you think you may need a little more of—could be the mantra for you. Don’t stress about it; you can change it at any time. The best thing about conducting daily meditations is that you can change your mantras at any time. Your process should be fluid, as should be your mantra.

The following tips will help you choose the right mantra at the right time.

“My dreams are coming true” is another great choice if you want to accomplish all you want and more.

First, ensure the phrase is positive. It defeats the purpose otherwise. This applies to the topic and the phrasing of your mantra. For instance, “I will accomplish more than my boss thinks I can” may imply that your boss doesn’t think you’re working hard enough. Adding that negativity creates static instead of clarity. Instead, keep it positive with, “I will accomplish all my tasks today with ease.” Avoiding any type of limiting verbiage helps you psychologically. The point of mantras is to lift you up and guide you along.

Next, keep it simple and manageable. You don’t want to stress yourself out with a mantra that may imply you have to accomplish very specific tasks. By keeping it generalized, it does its job to inspire and uplift you without pressuring you. For instance, “I will speak with confidence and self-assurance” reminds you to speak with confidence throughout the day without attaching it to a specific incident. Therefore, it’s a good choice. Instead of picking “I will get my show on TV,” which is something that really can’t be done in a day, consider “I will accomplish all of my dreams” as it omits a specific task and the implication of a set time in which this needs to be accomplished.

If you need more examples, they are all over the internet. Pick one that resonates with you on any given day, and experience the beauty of giving yourself inspirational mantras throughout the day. I also encourage you to journal your sessions, as well, and follow up with a small paragraph at the end of the day expressing how your mantra made you feel today. By documenting this, you’re not only providing yourself a good reminder that mantras are a great tool but you’re also able to show yourself what does and doesn’t work for you and your process. We’re all different, and that’s great! I encourage you to try out mantras daily as a part of your routine, and feel free to reach out to me and let me know what your favorite mantras are that work for you. I’m always interested in hearing about it.