The Power Of A Mantra

The Daily Stoic for today, January the 26th: “The Power Of A Mantra”

“Erase the false impressions from your mind by constantly saying to yourself, I have it in my soul to keep out any evil, desire or any kind of disturbance—instead, seeing the true nature of things, I will give them only their due. Always remember this power that nature gave you.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.29

It’s been less than a month since I started following the Daily Stoic and writing my daily post about every passage.  However, I definitely feel some important progress.

To begin with, I have started to accept a lot of things that would usually drive me mad. I’ve always been a stubborn, impulsive person. The kind of guy that would act before talking, talk before thinking, and think without knowing enough about the situation.

That’s starting to change. Even when not at one of my best moments, I’ve been able to look at things differently.

What I love about stoicism is how easily it merges with other things that bring clarity and peace to my life. Concretely, it has combined magnificently with meditation, my minimalist approach to life, and my newly acquired digital nomad lifestyle.

The Power Of A Mantra

Without realizing it, I have started to change the way I react to mundane events. When I feel like something is starting to drive me crazy, I use this mantra who has proven to be quite effective:

Is it worth it?

The concrete phrasing depends on the situation, but the meaning stays the same.

For example, today I was trying to finish some work but I was starting to realize I would not be able to finish it in time. Then, my partner asked me if I wanted to have something to eat at the center and maybe go for a walk later.

My first impulse was to get angry, grumble an answer about how busy I was, and keep on working.

Then I asked myself:

Is it worth getting mad at this, spend some more hours working, and probably end up hungry and frustrated?

And the answer was “No”.

This “No” is actually a very uncommon answer for me in that situation, and something I have always struggled with.

Thus, in a way, Stoicism has kind of helped me today :).

Conclusion

Today’s Daily Stoic remembers us the power of a mantra, of having a sentence or resource we can use to deal with things in a stoic way.

After thinking about it, I came to realize that this sentence for me is “is it worth it?”. And works quite well.

Do you have a mantra? A resource or trick you use? Let us know in the comments below!